The building insulation market - France (2024)

1.2 A growing global market

Insulation market sales World, ****-**** Source: ****

The global insulation market is expanding significantly, with forecasts indicating that it could exceed $***.** billion by ****, after reaching $**.** billion in ****. This growth is fuelled by an increase of *.*% per year, supported by increased demand for insulation materials in the construction sector, particularly in developing countries. The surge in new building construction and renovation projects are also driving this market, asinsulation is essential for improving energy efficiency, reducing costs and meeting growing environmental demands.

The insulation market encompasses the production, distribution and installation of materials designed to minimize heat transmission, thus contributing to energy efficiency, indoor comfort and environmental protection. Insulation products, such as expanded polystyrene, glass wool and mineral wool, are widely used not only in the construction sector, but also in transport, household appliances and other areas. For example, in June ****, Saint-Gobain acquired Building Products of Canada Corp. specializing in wood-fiber insulation, to strengthen its market position.

Asia-Pacific accounts for the largest share of the market, reaching a value of $**.** billion in ****, with strong growth potential thanks to rapid urbanization and a focus on energy efficiency. Europe and North America, on the other hand, are close behind, with significant investments in insulation to comply ...

1.3 A growing national market overall

Growing national market

The thermal insulation market appears to be growing, increasing by **% from **** to ****. However, the market declined in ****, marked by the Covid-** crisis and the first confinements. In ****, professionals witnessed a significant rebound, driven by initiatives such as MaPrimeRénov', which helps finance renovation work for homes built over ** years ago, and thus aims to boost energy efficiency.

Development of the thermal insulation market for buildings France, ****, in millions of m* of insulation installed Source: ****

If we turn our attention to the insulation segment, we see that it too is growing strongly. The sales index has risen from *** in **** to *** in ****, representing a meteoric growth of +**% in * years. Trend in insulation sales index France, ****-****, base *** in **** Source: ****

Growth in insulation sales France, **** - ****, in billions of euros Source: ****

The market is obviously being driven upwards by the construction sector, but also by the property renovation sector. According to the FFB, The property renovation market could represent a windfall for the various players in the sector of almost €** billion a year by ****.

This recent growth is mainly due to the positive impact of the large number of new housing starts in **** on subsequent years. In fact, the market follows ...

2.1 Household demand for renovation

A government challenge

The building sector is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases in France after industry, accounting for **% of CO* emissions. By ****, nearly * million of France's ** million homes will still be poorly insulated , and *.* million households will be struggling to pay their heating bills.

Renovating buildings to make them more energy-efficient would both combat climate change and boost the purchasing power of the French by ultimately reducing their heating bills. Energy renovation (***) is one of the priority sectorsof the France Relance plan, to which *.* billion euros have been allocated over two years. As part of the ****-**** recovery plan, *** million euros are earmarked to finance the restructuring or major renovation of social rental housing coupled with thermal renovation throughout the region.the goal is to renovate **,*** housing units over two years, including at least **,*** units by ****.

Energy-efficient renovation

Renovating a home to improve its energy performance starts with insulating walls, floors and, if possible, attics.

The TREMI (***) based on energy performance. There are * classes : A, B, C, D, E, F, G. According to La Croix, a home rated G would consume ** times more energy than one rated A.

In its analysis, ADEME reports that among customers who have carried ...

2.2 The tertiary building stock: an opportunity for the sector

The tertiary sector accounts for a quarter of France's real estate assets and a third of all buildings' energy consumption. Like the residential sector, it is relatively old, and in particular requires renovation to reduce energy bills. It is therefore the target of a renovation plan by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity[***]

A study by theObservatoire de l'immobilier durable in ****, reveals for each category of tertiary buildings (***).

For example, in the office buildings category , F and G labels account for **%, indicating very poor energy efficiency. For information, the office buildings category accounts for **% of total tertiary real estate.

Breakdown of office buildings in the Paris region by energy label France, ****, % (***) Source: ****

The graph illustrates the breakdown of final energy consumption for offices in France, measured in kWh per m² per year. The majority of offices are in moderate consumption brackets, with **.*% of offices consuming between *** and *** kWh/m²/year and **.*% between ** and *** kWh/m²/year, close to the target threshold of *** kWh/m²/year set for ****.

Around a third of offices already meet this target, reflecting the efforts made to reduce energy consumption, supported by the actions provided for in the tertiary sector decree and the order of ...

2.3 Falling housing starts threaten demand

Insulation installation takes place * months after building starts, so it's possible to anticipate demand for insulation by observing the evolution of building starts. [***]

Insee gives an idea of trends by looking at changes in the number of housing starts since ****. For both single-family and multi-family housing, the number of starts has been falling since ****. However, the number of housing starts seems to rise again in ****, only to fall back again in ****, as can be seen more clearly in the last graph.

Number of housing starts France, ****-****, in thousands of units Source: ****

Change in number of housing starts France, ****, in units Source: ****

Here we can see more clearly the trend in the number of housing starts in France between **** and October ****. There is a general downward trend for both indicators: building permits and housing starts. Although building permits rise slightly in ****, peaking at ***,***, they then fall back to ***,*** in October ****. Housing starts also follow a similar trend, falling from ***,*** in **** to ***,*** in October ****. This decline could reflect challenges in the construction sector, possibly related to economic conditions or tightened regulations.

2.4 Demand dependent on government targets

Buildings account for **% of Frenchenergy consumption , and the sector emits over *** million tonnes of CO* every year, representing almost **% of national emissions. [***] Consequently, the public authorities have made insulation a priority in their policy to reduce energy consumption.

The targets are ambitious:

****: a **% reduction in the energy consumption of the housing stock compared with ****, with the major renovation of ***,*** homes a year from ****, giving priority to those of low-income households. ****: continuation of the major renovation program to bring the entire housing stock up to the "Bâtiments Basse Consommation" standard. Consumption reduced by **% compared with ****. Cut greenhouse gas emissions by a factor of four compared with **** levels. To achieve this, greenhouse gas (***) emissions[***]

Source: ****

There are numerous incentive mechanisms for households undertaking energy improvements, including zero-interest loans for roof insulation, credits, property tax exemptions, etc. (***) [***]

These are complemented by increasingly stringent regulations on new housing, as well as obligations to carry out insulation work for certain dwellings in the event of renovation work. (***).

The State as a brake on demand

With the government planning to increase VAT on renovation work on homes over * years old (***), such a measure is likely to dampen demand in the building insulation market.

"In ...

2.5 Growth in demand for biobased insulation materials

There are many types of bio-sourced insulation: hemp wool is the leading eco-construction material, while wood, cotton and flax wool, as well as cellulose wadding, are also known for their performance combined with their natural origin. Although biobased insulation products have a much smaller market share than the competing families of mineral and synthetic insulation products, they have great potential because of their lower environmental impact. The RE**** regulation, the future environmental regulation for new buildings from **** onwards, aims to reduce the carbon impact of building construction, and as such tends to encourage the use of biobased insulation. as such, it aims to encourage the use of bio-sourced materials in general, and insulation materials in particular, which store CO* instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.

In ****, biobased insulation will account for ** million m* of insulation installed, and a total of **,*** homes fully insulated with biomass-based insulation. By ****, a total of *** million m* of insulation would have been installed, with biobased insulation accounting for almost **% of materials used. [***]

In terms of recorded value, biobased insulation represents between *% and **% of the insulation market in terms of sales. Over the past * years, this figure has risen by between **% and **% a year, indicating a ...

2.6 Demand driven by inflation and climate change

Faced with soaring energy prices and the easing of the tariff shield, many homeowners may be inclined to opt for an energy-efficient renovation of their home, as the following graph shows:

"Would you say that rising electricity tariffs could encourage you to undertake energy renovation work on your home?" France, ****, in Source: ****

Similarly, the increasing number of heatwaves, which experts believe are caused by climate change, is a reason for homeowners to undertake energy-efficiency renovations:

"Would you say that an increase in heatwaves could prompt you to undertake energy renovation work on your home?" France, ****, in Source: ****

A total of **% of homeowners answered "Yes" to at least one of the two questions.

Rising energy prices appear to be a slightly less important motivating factor than successive heatwaves. Indeed, **% of homeowners answered "Yes" to the survey on the first reason, compared with **% for the survey on the reason of repeated heatwaves.

3.1 The insulating materials for construction/renovation sector

The building insulation sector brings together a large number of players. These players segment the market as follows:

The manufacturing market is dominated by the major international companies such as Saint-Gobain and Knauf. These market giants naturally offer all segments of insulation materials for the construction industry.

alongside these giants , franchises have sprung up that have chosen to develop skills specific to one part of the home construction industry, in order to perpetuate their business model. Examples includeIsocomblea subsidiary of the Isoweck group founded in ****, has built up a reputation for blow-in attic insulation. It currently has some ** branches nationwide, ** of which are franchises.

Another model used by insulation companies is the concession. As with a franchise, a network enables dealers to benefit from the reputation of a brand name, while operating as an independent business. The only difference is that the brand does not offer training or know-how transfer, but simply the allocation of an exclusive territorial zone. One example is the Tryba concession, a major French player in the distribution of insulating doors and windows. The brand has just over *** dealerships and offers a wide range of products, from interior and exterior joinery in PVC, aluminum and wood.

3.2 Insulation by type of building, insulation item and material

Even distribution between new-build and renovation projects

The market is balanced, and this balance varies little from year to year. The Actu environnement website revealed in **** that new construction accounted for **.*% of insulation surfaces installed, compared with **.*% for building renovation. In ****, TBC Innovation is updating this figure, with Batiweb reporting an increase in the share of new-build to **% and a corresponding decrease in that of renovation to **%. In ****, these figures change slightly with **% of insulation dedicated to renovation and **% to new construction. [***]

Insulation sales by outlet France, ****, in Source: ****

Distribution mainly for attics and roofs

In ****, roof and attic insulation accounted for almost half the surface area of insulation installed. This places it ahead of interior and exterior wall insulation, which account for more than */* of the surface area installed, and floor insulation, which is far behind and less widely used. [***]

This situation doesn't really seem to have changed since the **** - **** period, as theADEME study shows.

Breakdown of work by insulation category France, ****-****, % Source: ****

The different insulation families There are three main families of insulation: natural insulation, mineral insulation and synthetic insulation. Natural or "bio-sourced" insulants are of plant or animal origin, so their main advantage is that they ...

3.3 Market sizes

Insee lists total indicators for companies registered under Naf code **.**A (***). The main data is shown in the table below.

Source: ****

3.4 Distribution and number of players in the region

The insulation sector appears to be growing, both in terms of the number of establishments and the number of employees. Both the number of establishments and the number of employees have been rising steadily since ****. In ****, there were *,*** establishments with **,*** employees, and in ****, there will be almost *,*** establishments with **,*** employees, representing an increase of **% in the number of establishments and **% in the number of employees. By ****, the number of salaried employees had fallen slightly to **,***. Similarly, the number of establishments declined slightly to *,***.

Growth in the number of establishments and employees in the insulation sector France, ****-****, in numbers Source: ****

Insee provides a geographical breakdown by region of companies registered under naf code **.**A: Travaux d'isolation. At the top of the list is the Île-de-France region with *** companies, followed by Auvergne Rhône Alpes (***) and the Grand-Est region with *** companies. Conversely, Corsica has just * companies, and the Bourgogne-Franche-Conté and Centre-Val de Loire regions only ** each.

Source: ****

3.5 Insulation as a household expense

To understand the benefits of insulation work in a building, we need to understand the share of total electricity expenditure due to heating. This gives us:

Household electricity consumption France, ****, in Source: ****

We can see that the most important lever for individual action to reduce electricity consumption concerns heating. The French national energy ombudsman estimates that a reduction of * degree celcius saves *% of energy consumption. Insulation keeps heat in the home, and is therefore a key vector for energy savings (***).

4.1 Types of insulation

Insulation materials are made up of different materials, each with different insulation qualities. Insulating materials used in construction form a large family of diversified products. These products can be classified into * main groups:

Mineral wool insulation : glass wool, rock wool and cellular glass; Vacuum insulation : this is a new generation of insulating materials with good thermal performance and low thickness. This saves precious centimeters. They are designed for interior insulation; Plant wool insulation : cork, plant fiber, wood fiber, hemp, wood wool, absorbent cotton, flax wool or cellulose wadding; Animal wool insulation : duck feathers or sheep's wool; Thin insulation : PMR, etc. Consisting of one or more layers of aluminum foil or aluminized plastic film, thin reflective products include intermediate layers of various kinds: flexible foam, felt of animal, vegetable or synthetic origin, bubble polyethylene...; the number and nature of superimposed layers vary their advertised thermal performance; Polystyrene insulation (***): of organic origin, expanded polystyrene, extruded polystyrene and others.[***]

A **** European Commission study on the sector reveals in this table the characteristics of the main insulating materials. Glasswool appears to be the material of choice, while polyurethane seems to be to be avoided.

Characteristics of the main insulation materials

Source: ****

Installation costs for different ...

4.2 Different insulation techniques

There are several options for carrying out insulation work:

Source: ****

4.3 The average price of an installation

The average price of interior insulation is €** per square meter , according to Prix Pose. The site has identified average prices by insulation item and performance level. These are detailed in the chart below.

Average costs of insulation items by performance France, ****, in € per home Source: ****

The site also lists prices according to the type of insulation used, naming the characteristics for each material. The information is listed in the following table:

Comparison of interior insulation costs per m* by type of insulation, France, ****

Type of insulation Average price per m² (***) Average price per m² (***) Characteristics Mineral wool **€ à **€ **€ à **€ Most commonPoor phase shift Polyurethane foam **€ à **€ **€ à **€ Most efficientNot very environmentally friendly Cellulose wadding **€ à **€ **€ à **€ The most versatile Ecological Wood wool **€ à **€ **€ à **€ ecologicalAverage performance Source: ****

4.4 The new connected heating market

The aim of connected heating is to simplify the use of heating appliances. From your smartphone, you can now set the temperature of your home, as well as switch heating systems on and off. There are also options for setting air and water temperatures, and for activating the anti-freeze system.

Rothelec, a company that markets electric radiators, carried out a survey on the vision of home automation according to age. Taking all ages together, the functions that most interest the French in home automation are temperature control, and heating in particular, at **%.

Home automation functions of greatest interest to the French France, ****, in Source: ****

The distinction made on the basis of age is represented in the graph below, where we can see that interest in temperature control increases with age. rature management increases with age, with **% of **-** year-olds most interested in the temperature management function in the case of a connected home, and **% for the over-**s.

Percentage of people most interested in home automation temperature management by age France, ****, in Source: ****

Connected thermostats are sold for between €** and €***. They are compatible with boiler systems running on oil, gas, electricity or heat pumps. They can be used if the heating ...

4.5 External thermal insulation

External thermal insulation (***) is a high-performance method for improving the energy efficiency of buildings, saving **-**% energy without compromising interior space. By enveloping the walls in a layer of insulation, ITE acts as a thermal barrier that helps conserve heat in winter and maintain coolness in summer, contributing to enhanced comfort all year round. Indeed, this external insulation eliminates thermal bridges, often responsible for cold draughts in winter, and limits overheating in hot weather, especially when windows and shutters remain closed. This improvement in thermal performance reduces energy consumption, resulting in substantial savings on heating bills of up to **%.

In addition to its energy benefits, ITE also provides acoustic comfort by attenuating external noise, a valuable asset for homes located in noisy environments. This type of insulation also helps to improve the aesthetics of the facade, offering the possibility of carrying out a facelift at the same time as the insulation work. Homeowners can choose to retain the original style of their house or transform its appearance, adding value to the property. A well-insulated, renovated façade is often viewed positively by potential buyers, who are less inclined to negotiate the price, helping to maintain or increase the property's sale ...

5.1 Insulation regulations for new buildings

Thedecree of March **, **** , amending the decree of May *, ****, sets new energy performance thresholds to be met for each element of a construction: each region now has its own level of thermal resistance, so the insulation standard is specific to each.

The table below shows the minimum thermal resistance of insulation systems, depending on the type of wall to be insulated.

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From July *, ****, the DPE (***) will become legally enforceable, forcing diagnosticians to be rigorous and impartial. This measure of a home's energy performance will then be more reliable and readable, offering homeowners more precise information than a simple A to G label, which will provide details of heat loss. [***]

since ****, real estate agencies have also been obliged to include energy and carbon labels, as well as the amount of the energy bill, in their advertisements. Depending on the DPE, a property may or may not be classified as a "thermal leak" (***), and will be off-limits to tenants from ****. [***]

As far as the sale of housing is concerned, an energy audit will also have to be carried out for the sale of a DPE D, E, F or G property. The measure will come into force on April *, **** for class F and ...

5.2 Strong government incentives for the residential sector

The regulatory environment is constantly changing, but remains highly favorable to the residential sector. The French Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition has launched the "Coup de pouce économies d'énergies"This scheme enables households to benefit from a *,*** or *,*** euro bonus designed to reduce their carbon footprint. It is available on a means-tested basis. It is also possible to obtain a Crédit d'Impôt pour la Transition Energétique (***) for installations using renewable resources. The associated bonus for the purchase of such equipment is **% of the amount of expenditure incurred up to December **, ****, with a ceiling of €*,*** for a single person and €**,*** for a couple. The work must be carried out by an RGE-labeled professional on a main dwelling built more than two years ago. AZero-rate eco-loan(***). Finally, a subsidy from the Agence Nationale de l'Habitat (***) can cover up to **% of the cost of renovation work in excess of €*,***, subject to certain income conditions and if the household does not benefit from any other similar aid. L'ADEMEclaims that from **** to ****, all these aids combined helped **% of households to finance renovation work and have it carried out by a certified professional (***). What's more, **% of those surveyed were able to carry ...

5.3 BBC standards, products and labels, thermal and environmental regulations

Standards and the BBC label

There are a number of standards that help consumers to ensure that products meet their expectations, such as CE marking, andthe French NF mark, which guarantees the safety of materials. Other non-governmental certifications also exist to guide consumers in their choice. The CSTBat certification issued by the CSTB(***) label requires wall materials with a coefficient of at least * m².K/W. The coefficient advertised on the product is guaranteed if it has been certified by ACERMI, an independent organization.

Thermal regulations

The current thermal regulations are RT****.

The **** Thermal Regulations (***) label, which is ** kWhep/m².an.

These regulations will be target-based, allowing total freedom of design and simply limiting energy consumption. Positive-energy buildings are those that produce more energy (***) than they consume. In general, they are highly efficient passive buildings with a high level of energy production in relation to their energy needs [***]

RE****

The Environmental Regulation **** (***) is a new regulation announced by the French Minister for Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili and her Minister Delegate for Housing Emmanuelle Wargon, due to come into force in ****. This new regulation is set to replace RT****, with the stated aim of reducing building emissions.

A new feature of this ...

5.4 The latest regulations affecting the insulation market

Climate and Resilience Act (***): From January *, ****, a home is considered energy-decent if its estimated primary energy consumption is less than *** kWh/m² per year. The most energy-intensive homes exceeding this threshold will be banned from being rented out. Revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (***): This directive aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption in European buildings by ****. It requires new buildings to be zero-emission by ****, with energy performance targets set for ****. Loi d'Accélération des Énergies Renouvelables (***): This law aims to increase the share of renewable energies to **% by ****, including a tripling of installed photovoltaic capacity by ****. It also imposes the installation of photovoltaic systems in the outdoor parking areas of commercial buildings over a certain surface area. Revision of the BACS Decree (***): This decree requires the installation of control systems in commercial buildings to monitor energy consumption, with gradual implementation up to ****, depending on the power of the installations. Inspections are also scheduled every five years. AGEC law: Extended Producer Responsibility (***): Producers of construction materials must organize themselves to take responsibility for recycling the waste generated by their products, with a requirement to take back waste free of charge from May ****. Ecological Planning - Roadmap ...

6.1 Segmentation

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6.2 Le marché de l'isolation: Etats des lieux et perspectives

Contexte:

Ces deux dernières années, le secteur de l’entretien rénovation a le vent en poupe, il porte le secteur du bâtiment. En ****, il enregistre une croissance de *.*% par rapport à l’année précédente et en **** il va jusqu’à atteindre *.*% de croissance supplémentaire. Le secteur des logements neufs font quant à eux -*.*% en **** et -*.*% en ****. 

Or, le marché de l’isolation est un pilier de la transition énergétique et donc de l’entretien rénovation : En ****, plus de **% des résidences sont des résidences de classe D ou plus sachant que les classes F et G sont considérés comme des passoirs thermiques (***).

Ce marché est dopé par le secteur publique qui alloue des aides financières aux ménages entreprenant des démarches de rénovation énergétique (***).

Grandes tendances du secteur:

*ère tendance : Le marché de l’isolation de bâtiment dépend du marché de la rénovation énergétique qui lui-même est dopé par le secteur public. Le projet loi de finances prévoit pour **** : * milliards € pour la transition écologique dont *.* pour pour l’entretien rénovation (***). 

*ème tendance : La construction de logements ...

• Isover Saint-Gobain
• Knauf
• Actis Isolation
• Rockwool
• Etex France Siniat
• Isoweck (Isocomble)
• Soprema Groupe
• Xella Group
• Siplast
• CETIH
• Dow Chemical
• CABETE Facades
• STO Group
• Saint-Gobain Distribution Bâtiment
• Saint-Gobain Groupe
• Acorus Groupe
• Émaillerie Alsacienne Façade
• Verlaine Groupe
• Buitex (Semin groupe)
• Semin
• Vitage Isolant Technique VIT
• Eurocomble Groupe ONPR
• Aramis
• Myral
• Daussan