Description
The “Économiser” pages of ADEME, the French ecological transition agency, are free guides to spending less on electricity, heating, fuel, water and everyday purchases. They need no account, carry no advertising and sell nothing.
ADEME is a public body under the ministries for ecological transition and for research. Its electricity guide, “Comment réduire sa facture d’électricité ?” (December 2024 edition), gives the average yearly use of ten energy-hungry appliances, measured in French homes for its Panel Elecdom study, and their cost at the regulated EDF tariff of €0.2516 per kWh in September 2024: 328 kWh (€83) for a 320-litre fridge-freezer, 296 kWh (€74) for a freezer, 141 kWh (€35) for a dishwasher. An internet box left on all the time uses 92 kWh a year.
Other pages cover eco-driving, water saving and a map of second-hand and rental shops, and a trip calculator compares the bike, car, train and plane. ADEME also warns that it never sells anything by phone, e-mail or at the door: people who call in its name are scammers.
Strengths
- Figures in kWh and in euros for each appliance, with the electricity price and the study behind them.
- A public agency with nothing to sell and no partner to promote.
- Dated PDF guides, such as the December 2024 electricity guide, that can be printed and kept.
Weaknesses
- General advice built on national averages; nothing looks at a particular home or contract.
- Euro amounts age quickly: the electricity guide uses the tariff of September 2024.
- Tools and guides are spread over several ADEME websites, so readers have to follow links from one to the next.
Who it is for
Households in France who want to see which appliances and habits weigh most on their energy and water bills, and what they can change without spending money.