RE2020 Thermal Study
Avignon, PACA

In Avignon, thermal studies fall within climate zone H2d, where the summers of the Rhône valley place the discomfort degree-hours indicator among the most stretched items of the RE2020 calculation. The mistral, frequent and sustained, bears directly on the airtightness of the building envelope and makes the air-permeability test decisive rather than a formality. The intra-muros centre adds a structuring constraint: external insulation is most often ruled out there by heritage protection, which shifts performance onto internal insulation, joinery and solar shading. Dynamic thermal simulation secures these trade-offs before the planning application is filed.

Summer comfort is the sticking point of the RE2020 in Avignon: on exposed façades, the degree-hours (DH) threshold is quickly exceeded, all the more so in the south of France. Dynamic thermal simulation arbitrates between thermal inertia, solar shading and natural ventilation before the building envelope is fixed.