Pierre Pichere |on 06/10/2022 |Puy-de-Dôme, 100% water and energy, Photovoltaic, CompaniesYour request has been registered.Add this(these) theme(s) to my personalized newsletterBased in Veyre-Monton, south of Clermont-Ferrand, the Rolhion Energie company has bet on renewable energies.Equipped with a showcase building, producing much more energy than it consumes, the company radiates throughout the Puy-de-Dôme with the sun as a compass, but only.It all started in a garage.Cyrille Rolhion's father was installed there as an electrician.It was in 2003 that Rolhion energy was born with, already, an interest in solar energy.The small artisanal general electricity company, employing two people, quickly found itself involved in the installation of some 700 m2 of photovoltaic panels in the storage area for trams in the Clermont conurbation.A hell of a deal for the time which was even publicized on the 8 p.m. television news.Cyrille Rolhion smiles.He was then an aeronautical engineer in the Paris region.It was in 2008 that he made the decision to return to Auvergne and join the company, before his father asserted his retirement rights.The same year, he found himself on the front page of the regional daily when he exhibited photovoltaic panels as part of the Clermont-Ferrand Housing Fair.“We arrived exactly when it was exploding”, notes the business manager.In two years, Rolhion Energie has gone from 100,000 euros to 4 M€ in turnover and from 3 to 16 employees.We had to leave the family garage to rent a more spacious building.Then,… boom!On December 9, 2010, with retroactive effect, a decree suspending the obligation to purchase electricity produced by certain solar installations calls everything into question.The dynamic is stopped, customers give up their project.At that time, photovoltaics accounted for 98% of the company's activity.“In one day, we lost eight months of turnover,” summarizes Cyrille Rolhion.The workforce of the company falls to eight employees.In 2011, its turnover was only 1.3 million euros.“At the same time, 80% of companies like ours have filed for bankruptcy,” he adds.At a forced march, Rolhion energy was thus forced to diversify into heating and air conditioning.Photovoltaic falls to 60% of its activity and its boss to deplore changes in rules every six months.A lack of visibility which, according to him, has helped to vegetate the sector.It was from 2017, with the boost given in favor of photovoltaics for self-consumption, that the entrepreneur found the stability to which he aspired.Reassured, he decided, in 2018, to invest 630,000 euros in the construction of a building - which he describes as "of the future" - almost self-sufficient, very well insulated, which consumes little energy and produces a lot. .With four years in advance, it meets RT2020 standards.Its carbon and environmental footprint is positive.Home automation makes it possible to remotely control certain functions of the building, to monitor and manage its energy consumption.In short, at 5, rue Georges Charpak in Veyre-Monton, it's already tomorrow… Even the recovery of rainwater with a water bag in a crawl space has been thought out.Cyrille Rolhion wanted to make it a showcase of his activity.This 720 m2 building - including 170 for offices and the showroom - is equipped with a double flow VMC combined with a Canadian glycol water well which allows the air to be renewed and to preheat or cool it thanks to the calories of the ground. .In addition, an 11 kWh storage battery can meet the building's consumption, in self-sufficiency, for the whole night.It is connected to a cladding of 41 m2 of photovoltaic panels and a carport (carport) covered with 25 m2 whose power of 12 kWp brings almost autonomy to the energy needs of the building and allows to recharge the four electric cars of the company (1).Cyrille Rolhion did the math with a Zoé, so he saves more than €2,500 per year on maintenance and fuel.Today, he is impatiently awaiting the democratization of electric car batteries which will be able to return their charge to the building circuit (2).The time for energy self-sufficiency in homes will finally be here.For financial investment purposes, 600 m2 of photovoltaic panels have been installed on the roof for a power of 100 kWp.They bring in 14,000€/year on resale.This investment amounted to €95,000 for a 20-year contract.Since 2003, the company has had more than 3,000 customers - mainly individuals from Puy-de-Dôme - including a third for air conditioning and heating (wood stoves, pellet stoves, boilers, heat pumps, etc.), markets on which the company generates 40% of its turnover.Cyrille Rolhion also points out that a heat pump can be combined very well with photovoltaics.“Not many of us have mastered both,” adds the entrepreneur, relatively confident in the future.Since the war in Ukraine, he has noticed an awareness of the price of energy.Its order book is filling up… “Hoping that it doesn't accelerate too much, because we could no longer supply”, specifies Cyrille Rolhion.Faced with this enthusiasm, he invites consumers to be vigilant towards those he describes as eco-delinquents.At a trade show, he was able to see the commercial power of these competitors from elsewhere who managed to sell installations twice as expensive as what he was offered on the neighboring stand.He advises taking the time before signing and having local craftsmen work.The issue of storage is another necessity that he has identified.To complete the 550 m² which are already dedicated to it, it provides for the construction of a new building of 600 m2.In the shorter term, Cyrille Rolhion plans to hire four people.“If I find them,” he hastens to add.He emphasizes that he was not destined to be a business manager and admits having difficulty accepting responsibility for everything and having to manage problems which often have their source outside the professional context.Since 2018, Rolhion Energie has gone from 8 to 16 employees (half of whom work on construction sites) for a turnover that should be close to €3 million in 2022.(1) To replace combustion-powered vehicles in the company's fleet, three new electric cars are being purchased.(2) Renault has just launched a Mégane equipped with it.CONGRESS MONITOR INNOVATION DAYJuly 4, 2022 |ParisCRAFTSMAN PROJECTS TROPHYOctober 4, 2022 |ParisSILVER SQUARENovember 21, 2022 |ParisUrban engineering and the establishment of networksDecember 6-7, 2022Management of road works and distribution networksAccessibility of roads and public spacesRehabilitation of two buildings.Relaunch of batches 4 and 5Round-trip transport service for works of artIn the same sectionThe complete Thermactif underfloor heating-cooling system is evolving to better meet the requirements of RE 2020, comfort needs and all market segments.Batimat, Interclima and Ideobain will this year host an ambitious program of [...]PureOne mineral wool insulation, positioned in Ursa's Premium range, has been [...]The Viessmann plant in Fauquelmont, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, now produces the new [...]BUILDING / CIVIL ENGINEERING TRAINER M/FCivil engineering building designer M/FSEINE AND MARNE CAUERolhion Energie, the renewable choiceYour email will not be publishedGood reasons to subscribe to Le Moniteur