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Leftette: I like my showers hot too. But I don't like them hotter than 60 degrees, and nor does anyone else. If we did, we'd have scars instead of skin on our backs.
I've seen some tenants turn their hot water temperature up when the size of the tank is inadequate for the number of tenants (or the length of their showers...). The WoF is never going to prevent those individual instances. The intention is that the water temperature is set in the ideal range every five years, because the chances of it staying in the ideal range increase if it's put there from time to time. If your tenant mentioned above is the outgoing tenant, he's not going to complain about the water temperature being lower for the last few days of his tenancy. If your tenant mentioned above is the incoming tenant, then as soon as the house has got its WoF you/he can turn the temperature up again.
You haven't queried the lower limit on the hot water, but for anyone who's wondering: The hot water temperature needs to be able to reach 50 degrees to limit the likelihood of legionnaires disease. So you do need to have a minimum temperature. Actually the ideal minimum temperature for preventing legionnaires is 60 degrees, but the risk for scalding increases hugely with every degree above 50, so the 55 is a trade-off.
2. In every conversation that I've heard about it, houses which owing to their design are not, and cannot feasibility be insulated to WoF levels will be exempt from that item on the WoF. While the ideal of course would be for all rental houses to be required to the desired thickness, there is a pragmatic recognition that requiring insulation where it's not physically feasible would take too many properties out of the rental market. (And I gather that's one of the first questions Nick Smith asked too).
3. A small kambrook fan heater fixed to the wall is unlikely to suffice in the draft WoF I've seen, because the draft instructions include some words to the effect that the output of the heater must be adequate for the space it's heating.
4. As with the insulation exemption for e.g. skillion-roof houses, concrete pad houses don't have to prove they've got a ground vapour barrier (because how can they?)
I should just add the caveat that these observations were based on the first draft of the WoF, before the trial occurred. However, I've heard nothing to suggest that the WoF requirements would be made tighter in any way following the trial.
I've seen some tenants turn their hot water temperature up when the size of the tank is inadequate for the number of tenants (or the length of their showers...). The WoF is never going to prevent those individual instances. The intention is that the water temperature is set in the ideal range every five years, because the chances of it staying in the ideal range increase if it's put there from time to time. If your tenant mentioned above is the outgoing tenant, he's not going to complain about the water temperature being lower for the last few days of his tenancy. If your tenant mentioned above is the incoming tenant, then as soon as the house has got its WoF you/he can turn the temperature up again.
You haven't queried the lower limit on the hot water, but for anyone who's wondering: The hot water temperature needs to be able to reach 50 degrees to limit the likelihood of legionnaires disease. So you do need to have a minimum temperature. Actually the ideal minimum temperature for preventing legionnaires is 60 degrees, but the risk for scalding increases hugely with every degree above 50, so the 55 is a trade-off.
2. In every conversation that I've heard about it, houses which owing to their design are not, and cannot feasibility be insulated to WoF levels will be exempt from that item on the WoF. While the ideal of course would be for all rental houses to be required to the desired thickness, there is a pragmatic recognition that requiring insulation where it's not physically feasible would take too many properties out of the rental market. (And I gather that's one of the first questions Nick Smith asked too).
3. A small kambrook fan heater fixed to the wall is unlikely to suffice in the draft WoF I've seen, because the draft instructions include some words to the effect that the output of the heater must be adequate for the space it's heating.
4. As with the insulation exemption for e.g. skillion-roof houses, concrete pad houses don't have to prove they've got a ground vapour barrier (because how can they?)
I should just add the caveat that these observations were based on the first draft of the WoF, before the trial occurred. However, I've heard nothing to suggest that the WoF requirements would be made tighter in any way following the trial.
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