The regulations allow two ways of satisfying the general purpose of air renewal in new homes: either by using the technical solutions defined in the revised decree of 24 March 1982, or by attaining minimum indoor air quality results defined based on indicators.

The High Council for public health (HCSP) has been asked by the general direction for health to give its opinion on this 2^nd “performance-based” approach, and on the choice of indicators and associated thresholds.

In particular, the HCSP considered that the proposed performance-based method was based on an equivalence in terms of performance with the requirements of the revised decree of 24 March 1982. However, since 1982, knowledge of indoor air quality has evolved considerably, and Indoor Air Quality Guidelines (IAQGs) have been defined for many indoor air pollutants.

Furthermore, although the revised decree of 24 March 1982 has been respected, 25% of the homes modelized have CO₂ concentrations regularly more than 1900 ppm.

The HCSP recommends that the requirements of the revised decree of 24 March 1982 be updated, considering the current context of energy sobriety, to provide sufficient indoor air quality (IAQGs not exceeded) for occupants. These new requirements will be used to define the decree relating to minimum indoor air quality results for new housing.