Green Party's pledge to renters: What you need to know
www.rnz.co.nz
The Green Party have launched their pre-election housing policy with promises to give everyone in New Zealand a healthy home to live in.

The Greens are looking to introduce changes to the rental market to “give everyone in New Zealand a healthy home to live in”.

  • Dave@lemmy.nzM
    0·
    1 year ago

    I’ve wintered in Canada in very cold conditions, and houses never felt cold or damp.

    This actually makes it easier for houses to not be damp! Very cold air can barely hold any water. The comparatively warmer winters in our subtropical climate leave a lot of moisture in rhe air.

    Though, and I’ve said this before, the comparatively warmer winters probably let us get away with a lower standard of housing, and now we have grown used to that.

    • Rangelus@lemmy.nzOP
      0·
      1 year ago

      Yes, good point. It didn’t snow for about a month, due to the low humidity. I should have just pointed out the warmth of the houses only.

      • Dave@lemmy.nzMEnglish
        0·
        1 year ago

        I wonder if there are companies in NZ that build houses to a standard that people coming from overseas expect?

        I know heatpump powered central heating is becoming more common, but it seems only for those who know to ask for it. I’d be interested in knowing what other things make warmer houses, so I know to look out for them.

        • Rangelus@lemmy.nzOPEnglish
          0·
          1 year ago

          When we built, we went with a smaller local contractor. We came from a cold, damp, house, so specified we wanted it WARM. Something that helped is we have polystyrene backed cladding. This isn’t included in the R-value calcs for Code, but definitely helps. We also went with thermally broken frames, which wasn’t worth the money I don’t think.

          • Dave@lemmy.nzMEnglish
            0·
            1 year ago

            So I went searching to see what might be different overseas. I picked Canada, and found a page saying Canadian’s use about 60% of their total energy use heating their home. So I thought maybe they are just more willing to crank the heater up

            But then I came across this page. It lists typical R-value for insulation. The numbers are in the 30-60 range… that’s got to be a difference in how they measure, right? I don’t think you can buy insulation more than an R value of about 4 in NZ…