The June 2026 heatwave triggered an explosion in air-conditioning enquiries — +323% of conversations on the subject in just a few weeks. But the most savvy tradespeople know that the real business opportunity is not where everyone else is looking.
The field reality: 66% of French households report suffering from the heat at home (Qualitel Barometer 2025), and only 28% of homes are air-conditioned in France. A poorly insulated roof allows the equivalent of 3,000W of heat to enter — two electric heaters running at full blast in the middle of summer. Good insulation can lower the indoor temperature by 10°C with no air conditioning at all.
The commercial opportunity for you: every homeowner considering air conditioning should first receive an insulation assessment. This is a powerful sales argument — you save your client 2 to 3 times the cost of an oversized air-conditioning unit, while generating a higher-margin insulation job for yourself.
How to structure your offer: propose a quick thermal assessment (loft, windows, thermal bridges) before any AC installation. Present both options with costs: insulation alone vs insulation + right-sized reversible AC. You sell more, you quote more accurately, and the client leaves with a sustainable solution rather than an energy-guzzling sticking plaster.
The political backdrop is in your favour: a €20-billion plan of zero-interest loans to insulate and air-condition homes by 2030 has been announced. Combined with MaPrimeRénov' and the existing Energy Efficiency Certificates (CEE), this is a strong signal: thermal renovation will remain a high-demand topic for the next 3 to 5 years, well beyond this heatwave episode.
Our advice: if your work includes insulation, now is the time to push it in your communications — Google Business listing, standard quotes, LinkedIn posts. If you only do air conditioning, consider a partnership with a local insulation specialist to offer a combined package. This is exactly the type of positioning we work on with our clients in strategic advisory.