Philippe and Magalie have lived for a year and a half in a thermal sieve, a few kilometers from Redon, in Morbihan. Without insulation, heating is inefficient. So they stopped heating. But they wonder about their situation.
The temperature in the living room can drop to 9 ° C. And you have to wait for sunny days for the thermometer to reach 15 ° C. Philippe and Magalie are tenants of a thermal strainer located in Morbihan, a few kilometers from Redon. Their house, on two levels, was fitted out in an old farmhouse which housed pigs. Visually, the living room is warm, welcoming. But the feeling of freshness disturbs the picture. ? “Sometimes it is colder in our house than outside”, quickly warns Philippe.
Blinded by the benefits
After living for some time in Germany, the couple wanted to join the country of Redon to get closer to Magalie’s parents. With their low income, ? “Less than € 1,000 per month”, they struggled to find permanent accommodation and wandered from lodge to lodge for nearly six months. When the opportunity to be tenants presented itself, they didn’t wait. They saw the benefits, ? “A garden, a garage, the countryside,”, but have turned a blind eye to the drawbacks. However, the accommodation quickly turns out to be impossible to heat. ? “With all the heaters turned on at maximum, it is difficult to reach 17 ° C, assures Philippe. So we made the choice not to turn them on so as not to pay too much electricity. “
Without any insulation, the heat from radiators is quickly replaced by external humidity. Paper towels on windows are not enough to prevent mildew stains from forming on the ceiling. The walls, thick in appearance, are in fact only large blocks of air. The electrical panel, built into a wall of the living room, constantly blows a cold wind. Precarious solution: they surrounded the counter in newspaper. ” I know it’s dangerous, but otherwise it’s too cold ”, explains Philippe, distraught.
Magalie De Sevin-Pinon and Philippe Pinon have chosen not to turn on the heating so as not to pay an overly heavy electricity bill. © Lucie Weeger, Ouest-France
Questions, few answers
Philippe Pinon, seasonal worker, is looking for a permanent job. Magalie is training to work in libraries. By living on social minimums, the couple cannot afford to consider moving. According to them, the owner of their home is not planning any work immediately. ?
So they seized the social worker of the commune and received a visit from an organization of the departmental council. As an urgent response, insulating curtains have been provided, ? “But we cannot install them since that would block the light from entering. However, it is a source of heat ”, says Philippe.
As Magalie likes to remind, they have become ? “Big thrifty”. They pay € 60 per month for electricity and last year they were able to recover almost € 300 overpayment.
Despite this situation, the couple are delighted to have no health problems and keep smiling: “We have a ground floor, a floor. It’s still not bad! “
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