I would image that NZ, with it’s close cultural ties to the UK retains the nomenclature.

I was wondering if a “council” was a government body specifically constituted to construct, own and operate such housing, or is a government body that has other functions as well, or whether it’s a not-for-profit corporation, or whatever?

I suppose the US equivalent would be a… county? As in, the government heirarchy goes federal, state and local. Councils are the local. The people who are responsible for collecting the rubbish and fixing wonky foothpaths and such. Anyway, here you go, councils of New Zealand, and public housing of New Zealand. Can’t find much about housing regulations across the pond, but it’s probably boring as all hell anyway. Have fun!

I was wondering if a “council” was a government body specifically constituted to construct, own and operate such housing, or is a government body that has other functions as well, or whether it’s a not-for-profit corporation, or whatever? Are it’s members elected by the electorate of a specific district, or are they appointed by the elected officials? Do they enforce regulations created by another elected body, or do they have the power to create such regulations themselves?

Thene: the proposition was that the government has a role in providing better quality housing. Now, I certainly agree that the State has an interest in ensuring that the housing stock meets certain standards. For one thing, substandard housing (bad wiring or heating systems, etc.) can cause fires that can provide a public hazard. Then there’s zoning laws, etc. But the word provide seems to be to denote that the government has a responsibility to build or buy housing stock and directly rent or sell it to those desiring housing, as opposed to ensuring via building codes, etc., that the housing stock that other people provide meets particular standards. I’m curious about what the rationale is for that.

This is incorrect. If you turn the water heater off temporarily, letting the water inside cool, the difference in temperature between inside and outside the tank drops, and thus the heat will transfer out of the tank more slowly (Fourier’s Law). It’ll take energy to heat the water back up when you turn the water heater back on, but you’ve been saving heat energy while the temperature was lower. Also see the “Dial Down the Thermostat At Night” section here for an explanation of the same principle with regards to the thermostat.

I love this analogy.

Regulatory standards for new housing, at the very least, I would think.

RonF: there is a lot that can be done with housing policy wrt climate change, especially in areas where a lot of the housing stock is old. Grants can be given to improve insulation and glazing, targeted for people who are in fuel poverty (ie, more than10% of the household income spent on paying their electricity and/or natural gas bills).

Then there’s design - things like the Passivhaus standard, which creates homes efficient enough that they don’t need heating or AC. You don’t even have to go that far, though - simply enforcing existing standards would have a huge benefit. On a larger scale, there’s planning policy; making multi-use areas which reduce the need to make short car journeys, and making public transport more usable.

And yes, I think the government has a responsibility to make sure people aren’t in fuel poverty due to low-cost housing being badly insulated. They sure as hell have a responsibility to enforce their own building standards.

What do you think that the government’s responsibility is in providing better quality housing?

Second, I feel the same way whenever I see a newspaper recommending that one should line-dry clothes instead of using a dryer. Newsflash: some of us don’t have the choice.

Regarding the hot water cylinder thing: are you sure that turning it off saves you power? That is, have you actually checked your energy consumption levels? I’m fairly certain that, due to the high specific heat of water (zomg chemistry), turning it off when you’re not using it would actually use more energy than leaving it on.