Fuel poverty in France: Adapting an English methodology to assess the health cost implications

Over five million households in France are estimated to be in fuel poverty and so possibly exposed to low indoor temperatures. Such exposure is a threat to health. Besides the individual's suffering, negative health outcomes, ranging from mild respiratory conditions to death, create demands on the health sector and costs to society. The health costs associated with energy inefficient dwellings have been calculated in England using a method based on the Housing Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS); a health-based risk assessment system, adopted in 2006 as the prescribed statutory method for appraising housing conditions in England and Wales. The aim of this study was to use the English approach to estimate the health costs attributable to energy inefficient dwellings and energy vulnerability in France, and to analyse the cost benefits of thermal upgrades. This article details the methodology used to match the English and French housing energy efficiency assessment to provide the foundation necessary for the estimation of costs. This work has demonstrated that it is practicable to adapt the English HHSRS based approach, so that it can be used in another country such as France.