Summer thermal comfort in typical French residential buildings: impact assessment of building envelope insulation enhancement

New French construction programs must deal from 2013 with strongest regulation requirements intended to reduce building energy consumption : Thermal Regulation 2012. The envelope is one of the building major elements that is concerned by these regulatory demands and where insulation enhancement can give a suitable response. Therefore, increasing the insulation level and air-tightness will positively influence the heating needs during cold season, but the main difficulty resides instead during the warm season.