A company energy saving certificate or CEE is a bonus paid by energy suppliers to consumers to encourage them to be in an energy efficiency process, and therefore to reduce their energy consumption and their greenhouse gas emissions.
For companies and local authorities, the CEE represents an opportunity to make their investments in energy performance profitable. These investments correspond to energy saving work or the purchase of new energy management equipment.
The regulatory framework of the Energy Savings Certificate
The Energy Savings Certificate scheme was initiated in 2006 by the public authorities to encourage energy suppliers to support the energy transition by implementing operations that promote lower energy consumption.
The law thus obliges energy sellers to promote energy efficiency among their customers, both private individuals and professionals. Operators are given a multi-year target to reach based on their sales volumes. Suppliers can then support companies in performing energy renovation work, in the form of bonuses.
Known as the “obliged”, energy suppliers can buy energy saving certificates to finance the CEE scheme on their own scale, the financial management of which is totally independent of the public authorities. So-called “eligible” organizations are able to sell them certificates. This may be the ANAH, the French National Housing Agency, for example.
For his part, the energy consumer participates in the financing of the CEE by the regular payment of his gas or electricity bill.
Energy efficiency work: how to mobilize a company CEE?
The company CEE concerns all companies that perform work with the aim of performing energy savings. However, the company must be able to prove that these works lead to a real improvement of the energy performance of the building. So, what types of work are eligible for energy certificates?
Eligible work
First of all, all energy renovation work on premises aimed at improving their insulation is eligible. You can benefit from the cee if you are planning to insulate the roof, walls or floor of your building, or if you are about to replace the windows.
The certificate of energy saving company also supports the financing of thermal work. This can be the installation of a new boiler or heat pump, a VMC, a new ventilation system or an air conditioning solution.
The installation of programs adapted to the intelligent management of energy expenditure are part of the scheme. It is then possible to obtain a help to invest in a piece of furniture of management of the cold, in a programmer of water saving or of management of the heating and the air conditioning.
Finally, the works aiming at replacing a non-renewable energy source by a renewable energy source in order to produce heat can be the subject of an EEC agreement.
On the other hand, works whose installations represent a too high level of CO2 emissions are excluded from the energy saving certificate scheme.
Do you have a renovation or equipment installation project and would like to know how to use CEE? More and more companies that carry out energy-saving work can now benefit from them.
Eligible companies
The CEE is granted to legal entities wishing to perform energy saving work in a tertiary or residential building. Companies and local authorities can then become actors of the energy transition by applying for CEE to renovate their premises, offices, industrial production sites but also for the renovation of a transport network.
How to obtain a CEE bonus? Whether you are a professional or an individual, you must first meet certain conditions. These will be verified by sending a file. To be eligible, your request must concern at least 50 GWh cumac if it is a request for a standard operation, and 20 GWh cumac if you request a specific operation.
Several eligible parties whose individual project is less than the required volume can join together to formulate a joint application for an energy saving certificate.