Energy performance is often reduced to a single label, the one given by an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Yet for the tertiary sector, the stakes are far broader and the obligations far more structured. An EPC gives a static snapshot of a building; tertiary energy performance, by contrast, follows a dynamic trajectory that is managed, measured, and reported every year.
For a full overview, see our complete guide to connected and sustainable territories.
An office building rated B on its EPC can still show real overconsumption linked to intensive air conditioning use or energy-hungry equipment not factored into the regulatory calculation behind the label. Conversely, a C- or D-rated building, well managed through IoT sensors and building management systems (BMS), can reach its energy reduction targets well ahead of the legal deadlines.
France's Éco Énergie Tertiaire scheme requires a systemic approach: measuring actual final energy consumption (electricity, gas, heat, cooling), reporting it on ADEME's OPERAT platform, and demonstrating a multi-decade trajectory toward lower energy use. This ongoing performance logic means collecting, analysing, and acting on consumption data in real time, a challenge that IoT technologies and hypervision platforms can now meet effectively.
An EPC assesses a building's theoretical energy potential; the French tertiary decree measures its actual energy performance. The two tools are complementary, but the second is binding and enforceable through penalties.
France's tertiary property stock covers around 900 million square metres and accounts for a significant share of the country's energy consumption. Offices, shops, schools, hospitals, hotels, public administrations: all these building types must now commit to a structured approach to improving their energy efficiency.
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Total floor area of the tertiary stock subject to the decree | ~900 million m² |
| Share of buildings covered by the tertiary decree | ~68% of the stock |
| Energy reduction target by 2030 | -40% vs. reference year |
| Target by 2040 | -50% |
| Target by 2050 | -60% |
The stakes are wide-ranging. Financially, controlling final energy consumption is a direct lever for cutting operating costs, in a context of structurally rising energy prices. On the regulatory side, failing to comply with the Éco Énergie Tertiaire scheme exposes those subject to it to administrative penalties and public formal notice (a "name and shame" mechanism).
Environmentally, the residential-tertiary sector is France's second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, right after transport. The tertiary sector alone accounts for roughly a third of these emissions, with the rest coming from residential buildings. That share might seem modest by comparison, but it remains substantial in absolute terms and has been rising since the 1990s, while the residential share has been falling, which explains the growing regulatory focus on the tertiary stock.
Transitioning to leaner tertiary buildings necessarily requires a better understanding of actual usage: which equipment consumes the most? At what times? In which zones? Answering these questions requires fine-grained measurement, real-time data collection, and energy data analysis, which is exactly why IoT and hypervision platforms have become central to tertiary building energy performance.
Energy efficiency in the tertiary sector rests on three complementary pillars: measure, understand, and act. Without instrumentation, any effort to cut consumption remains approximate. Without analysis, raw data produces no value. Without an action plan, diagnostics go nowhere.
The first step is deploying sensors and smart meters that collect real-time data on electricity, gas, heat, and cooling consumption, as well as the environmental parameters that influence that consumption: ambient temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, occupancy rates. Integrating the Enedis and GRDF APIs also makes it possible to consolidate data from Linky and Gazpar smart meters directly into management dashboards.
Once the data is collected, analysis algorithms help identify the most energy-intensive equipment, peak overconsumption periods, anomalies, and drift. Analysing the load curve, calculating energy performance indices, and comparing similar sites or buildings all help prioritise corrective actions.
Actively controlling equipment (HVAC, lighting, blinds, ventilation) based on occupancy data and weather conditions is the most powerful lever for cutting consumption without compromising occupant comfort. A building management system connected to an IoT platform can automate these adjustments and generate real-time alerts whenever a threshold is exceeded.
A concrete example: in the city of Noisy-le-Grand, deploying the Kuzzle IoT platform over a LoRa network improved air quality and reduced energy consumption in public buildings through continuous temperature, humidity, and CO2 monitoring.
A faulty piece of equipment, an undersized heating pump, a poorly calibrated HVAC controller, equipment left permanently on standby, can account for 15% to 30% of undetected energy overconsumption. Predictive maintenance, fed by continuous monitoring data, makes it possible to anticipate these failures before they hit the energy bill.
The regulatory framework for tertiary building energy performance has become considerably more structured since 2018, with the adoption of the ELAN law and the publication of the tertiary decree in 2019.
| Regulatory Text | Key Points |
|---|---|
| ELAN law, art. 175 (2018) | Sets out the principle of a mandatory energy performance improvement for tertiary-use buildings over 1,000 m². |
| Decree no. 2019-771 of 23 July 2019 | Defines the terms of the Éco Énergie Tertiaire scheme: scope, targets (-40% by 2030 / -50% by 2040 / -60% by 2050), annual reporting on OPERAT. |
| Absolute values order IV, 20 February 2024 | Sets maximum consumption thresholds in kWh/m²/year for new activity categories. Reinforces the trajectory toward lower energy use. |
| Absolute values order V, 12 July 2024 | Extends the scheme to transport (air, rail, maritime, road), broadcasting, culture, and leisure. Specifies the values applicable to French overseas territories. |
| OPERAT platform (ADEME) | Official tool for annual reporting of final energy consumption. Deadline: 30 September each year for the previous year's data. |
The tertiary decree applies to all buildings, parts of buildings, or groups of buildings where the floor area used for tertiary activities is equal to or greater than 1,000 m², whether public or private. Mixed-use buildings are also covered once their tertiary floor area reaches this threshold. According to the decree's impact assessment, nearly 68% of France's tertiary stock is subject to the scheme.
Only places of worship, temporary buildings, and sites hosting national defence and security activities are exempt.
Entities subject to the decree have two methods available to demonstrate their reduction trajectory:
In the event of failure to report or to meet targets without justification, the prefect can issue a formal notice and, as a last resort, publish the list of non-compliant establishments, a "name and shame" mechanism particularly feared by major retail chains and local authorities.
A concrete example: SNCF train stations, subject to the decree under transport activities, use the Kuzzle IoT platform to measure solar panel output, lighting consumption by zone, and HVAC system efficiency in real time, data that feeds directly into OPERAT reporting.
Faced with the growing requirements of the Éco Énergie Tertiaire scheme, Kuzzle offers a complete IoT and Hypervision platform designed for tertiary building managers, local authorities, and infrastructure operators. The goal: turn energy data into a concrete operational lever.
Kuzzle's open-source IoT platform is agnostic to sensor and connectivity technologies. It supports LoRa, Zigbee, Modbus, BACnet, M-Bus, and many other protocols, making it possible to bring together every connected system in a tertiary building within a single environment: energy meters, air quality sensors (CO2, temperature, humidity), BMS controllers, connected lighting, HVAC equipment.
Key features for tertiary energy performance include:
For multi-site managers (local authorities, social housing providers, property groups, transport operators), Kuzzle Hypervision provides a unified, cross-functional view of energy performance across an entire estate. The platform centralises data from IoT sensors, BMS systems, asset registers, and business tools in a single interface, letting managers cross-reference indicators and prioritise investment decisions.
Kuzzle Hypervision is natively multi-site and multi-tenant: each site has its own space, users, and dashboards, while still allowing centralised supervision across a territory or group. The solution can be hosted on a sovereign French cloud or deployed on-premise, guaranteeing control over sensitive data.
| Customer Case | Challenge | Result with Kuzzle |
|---|---|---|
| Alès Agglomération (72 municipalities) | Supervise electricity consumption and air quality in schools, museums, and public buildings. | Hypervisor integrating Enedis and GRDF APIs, real-time CO2 alerts, dashboards by municipality. |
| SIEA, Ain energy syndicate | Manage electricity consumption and monitor emissions across the territory's public buildings. | Multi-sensor indoor/outdoor hypervision platform, real-time dashboards, key energy indicators. |
One of Kuzzle's key differentiators is its open-source architecture, which guarantees technological independence from manufacturers and integrators. Unlike proprietary solutions, Kuzzle IoT can connect heterogeneous equipment, integrate new data sources at any time, and evolve use cases without overhauling what's already in place.
The platform is modular and progressive: you activate the modules you need (energy monitoring, air quality, predictive maintenance, regulatory reporting) and grow the solution at the pace of your projects, with no lengthy development cycle. Kuzzle supports its customers from defining use cases through to operational rollout and scaling up.
The Kuzzle Hypervision platform is listed on the Banque des Territoires' Numérique 360 marketplace, attesting to its compliance with the digital sovereignty requirements of French local authorities.
All tertiary-use buildings (offices, shops, hotels, hospitals, schools, administrative buildings) with a floor area equal to or greater than 1,000 m² are covered, whether public or private. Mixed-use buildings are covered too, once their tertiary floor area reaches this threshold. Around 68% of France's tertiary stock is subject to the Éco Énergie Tertiaire scheme.
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) assesses a building's theoretical energy potential based on its physical characteristics. The tertiary decree, by contrast, requires measuring and reporting actual energy consumption and demonstrating its reduction over time. The EPC is an indicator; the tertiary decree is a results-based obligation, reported annually on OPERAT.
The OPERAT platform, managed by ADEME, is the official reporting tool. Each entity subject to the decree must enter its final energy consumption (electricity, gas, heat, cooling) for the previous year annually. The deadline is 30 September each year. An IoT solution connected to the Enedis and GRDF APIs, like Kuzzle's, can automate much of this data collection.
In the event of failure to report or to meet targets without acceptable justification, the prefect can issue a formal notice to the owner or tenant. As a last resort, the list of non-compliant establishments can be published publicly (a "name and shame" mechanism). Financial penalties are also provided for for repeat offenders.
An IoT hypervisor centralises real-time data from all of a building's or property portfolio's connected equipment: energy meters, environmental sensors, BMS controllers, HVAC systems. By cross-referencing this data with business indicators, it helps managers detect overconsumption, anticipate failures, control equipment remotely, and produce the regulatory reports required by OPERAT. The Kuzzle Hypervision platform is designed precisely for this need.
Yes. Kuzzle IoT is agnostic to sensor technologies and communication protocols: LoRa, LoRaWAN, Zigbee, Modbus, BACnet, M-Bus, MQTT, REST, OPC-UA. It integrates with existing equipment (BMS, controllers, smart meters) with no need for replacement. Native connectors also allow external data flows to be integrated, such as the Enedis and GRDF APIs or weather data, to enrich analysis scenarios.
The relative value measures the percentage reduction in consumption compared to a reference year chosen after 2010. It suits older buildings that have undergone renovation work. The absolute value sets a maximum consumption cap in kWh/m²/year based on the building's activity, as defined by ministerial order. It's better suited to newer buildings whose initial consumption is already low.
The cost depends on the project's scope: number of buildings, number of measurement points, protocols already in place, and desired level of automation. A progressive, use-case-by-use-case approach helps control the initial budget: starting, for example, with a priority use case (air quality in schools, electrical monitoring of a pilot site) before extending the platform across the entire estate. This modular approach, offered by Kuzzle IoT, avoids a massive upfront investment and lets the budget grow in step with the results achieved.
Thanks to an open-source architecture that's agnostic to protocols and sensors, a first use case can be operational within a few weeks, with no lengthy development or overhaul of existing systems. Estate managers who start with a limited scope (one building, one department) generally get their first usable dashboards quickly, allowing them to validate the value of the approach before rolling it out across the entire property portfolio.
No. Business dashboards are designed to be used directly by technical teams and estate managers, with no development or data science skills required. Kuzzle also supports its customers in getting up to speed with the platform, from defining use cases to building team expertise, so that the data collected is used autonomously on a day-to-day basis.