Energy saving workshop: 12 ideas to cut your energy bill

Heating, electricity, fuel: energy weighs heavily on the budget, and it's also one of the main levers for the climate. The Ecofrugal Energy saving workshop brings colleagues, neighbours or friends together to share what really works: the well-set thermostat, the switchable power strip, the experience of the person who insulated their loft or installed a heat pump… It's free, friendly and open to all: the facilitation booklet guides you step by step.

In English too. Workshops can be run in English. The booklet is written in French and its English version is being prepared: contact us to receive a translated copy.

Why talk about energy saving?

Source: ADEME (French figures).

After falling sharply between 2021 and 2023, energy consumption in French homes and offices rose again in 2024. Yet France has set itself the goal of cutting its final energy consumption by 20% by 2030 compared with 2012. Small everyday habits, the right equipment choices and renovation projects all contribute… and bring the bills down.

The method: reduce, optimise, decarbonise

This method applies to the two main areas of consumption: travel and housing.

The 12 energy saving ideas

The workshop has two parts of about one hour each, on the same day or on two different dates. As always, the group can also choose the ideas it is most interested in.

Part 1 — Travel and heating

1. I travel less: remote working, video calls, grouping your shopping trips… the cheapest journey is the one you avoid.
2. I choose car-sharing and car-pooling: sharing your car or your journey splits the costs.
3. I go for active travel and public transport for everyday journeys.
4. I practise eco-driving: anticipate, drive smoothly, slow down on the motorway.
5. I heat and cool at the right temperature: 19 °C in living rooms, a programmable thermostat (up to 15% savings according to ADEME), and a room aired ten minutes a day, which is easier to heat.
6. I make the best use of my electrical and gas appliances: a lid on the saucepans, a full washing machine at low temperature, a defrosted freezer.

Part 2 — Electricity, hot water and renovation

7. I monitor my water, gas and electricity use: reading your meters, using online monitoring tools, spotting unusual increases.
8. I unplug devices on standby and switch off the lights, and in France I shift my uses during the consumption peaks announced by the Ecowatt app.
9. I choose my appliances and equipment carefully: energy label, the right size, induction hobs, efficient appliances.
10. I improve insulation and look into an energy renovation: loft, windows, heat pump… with free support from the French public service France Rénov'. This is where the other participants' experience is so valuable!
11. I use less water and hot water: a water-saving shower head means up to €160 saved per year according to ADEME, plus a well-set water heater.
12. I go for low-carbon energy and self-consumption: a green electricity offer, renewable heating, solar panels, including in apartment buildings.

Want to go further? The Mobility, Saving water and Shared housing workshops explore several of these ideas in more depth.

How does an energy saving workshop work?

1. You create your workshop on monatelier-ecofrugal.fr, open to the public or for your guests only, in person or online.
2. You bring 8 to 12 people together — colleagues, neighbours, friends, members of an association.
3. You run it with the booklet: a ready-to-read script, mini-quizzes and questions to get everyone talking. Allow about 10 minutes per idea, in one or two sessions of about an hour.
4. Everyone leaves with their own action list to put into practice at home… and at work, where ideas can be passed on to management.

The golden rule: no debate, we talk about solutions. The big controversies about nuclear power or renewable energy are not today's topic. Everyone talks about what they do or would like to do, we share ideas and experience, and learn from each other. It feels more like a neighbourhood party than a training course.

Because the workshop is also a chance to discover everyone's hidden talents — the colleague who had their house insulated, the neighbour who installed solar panels — and to grow together the wish to act. Before starting big works, nothing beats the experience of someone who has been through it! The workshop helps bring back community, connection and mutual help around a topic that concerns us all.

A booklet designed with Orange

The Energy saving booklet was co-designed with Orange, which uses it to involve its employees in its own energy saving plan. It helps all organisations — companies, local authorities, associations — roll out their energy saving plan by involving everyone.

More broadly, Mon Atelier Ecofrugal is listed by ADEME Académie (the French Agency for Ecological Transition) among the facilitation tools that support behaviour change. Since 2018, more than 1,000 Ambassadors have organised workshops all over France, and more than 10,000 participants have taken part.

Ecofrugal survey of members, July 2024. See what it changes

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to know about energy or building works?

No. The solutions come from the participants: your role is to introduce the topics and give everyone the floor. The booklet gives you the whole running order, with figures to feed the discussion.

What if I'm a tenant?

The workshop concerns you just as much: most ideas (heating, appliances, standby, hot water, travel) require no building work.

How much does it cost?

Nothing. Signing up, the facilitation booklet and the workshop are free, and the Ambassador who runs it is a volunteer.

And at work?

The workshop is ideal for involving employees in an energy saving plan. It's always free if an employee runs it with the booklet: talk to your HR, CSR or facilities team. Organisations that want to involve a large number of people can book the XXL Ecofrugal Workshop, run by an Ecofrugal Coach. This paid format is presented on ecofrugal.fr (in French).

To go further

Renovating, insulating, airing, reducing the consumption of appliances, heating and lighting with renewable energy: all these solutions are developed in the Housing section of Le Guide Écofrugal (Leduc, 2025, in French), with a foreword by Fabrice Bonnifet, and travel in its Transport section. More than 500 solutions to save money and reduce your ecological footprint, at work and at home.