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Pipe dream, the current electrical network in the UK can cope with that demand.

Scottish Power design/allow something like 2.5kW for each property in a reasonably new estate, and until these rules that prevent heat pumps at boundary to neighbouring properties when you can fling in a gas boiler and the flue noise will be noisier than a heat pump.

I'm not convinced the gas boiler flue noise vs heat pump argument would be fair, as the heat pumps tend to be operated more continuously than gas boilers, even if the dB were comparable.

If new builds - which can be designed to suit - aren't required to use heat pumps and solar, there is little hope in getting owners of older homes to retro fit them. Friends on our street, with a similar era but better insulated (due to extensions) home went for a heat pump from Octopus. Everything about it is massive ! The pump the water tanks, the radiators - the install took 10 Octopus vans at one point (I kid you not). The amount of space they have lost in their home is quite significant. And yes, checks that the electrical feed was adequate were part of the survey.

I thought they'd recently done away with requirement to be a certain distance from neighbours?

GarethC wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2025 11:54 am I thought they'd recently done away with requirement to be a certain distance from neighbours?

Yep, as they keep getting quieter the England rule for PP within 1m of the boundray has been dropped. Not sure if the Welsh 'within 3m' rule has changed.

Mart wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2025 12:06 pm

GarethC wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2025 11:54 am I thought they'd recently done away with requirement to be a certain distance from neighbours?

Yep, as they keep getting quieter the England rule for PP within 1m of the boundray has been dropped. Not sure if the Welsh 'within 3m' rule has changed.

Phew.

Mart wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2025 12:06 pm

GarethC wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2025 11:54 am I thought they'd recently done away with requirement to be a certain distance from neighbours?

Yep, as they keep getting quieter the England rule for PP within 1m of the boundray has been dropped. Not sure if the Welsh 'within 3m' rule has changed.

From Welsh Gov pages

Installation of one air source heat pump used solely for heating purposes is normally permitted, provided that it complies with the MCS Planning Standards (or equivalent standards) and subject to the following conditions:

no more than one air source heat pump can be installed on (or within the curtilage of) your property
the volume of the air source heat pump's outdoor compressor unit (including any housing) must not exceed one cubic metre
no part of the air source heat pump can be installed within three metres of the boundary of your property
if in the case of the installation of an air source heat pump, a stand alone wind turbine is installed within the curtilage of the dwellinghouse
the air source heat pump can not be installed on a pitched roof
if installed on a flat roof, the air source heat pump must not be sited within one metre of the external edge of that roof
the air source heat pump cannot be installed on a wall or roof which fronts a highway.

so still 3 meters

Moxi

I was having difficulty finding anything concrete about the changes, I'm not sure if they are "in" quite yet, early in the new year is all I can find.

I found this which is a treble phew for Nowty Towers.
https://mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2024/11/ ... eat-pumps/

• Remove the 1m boundary rule, enabling heat pumps to be installed within 1m of the property boundary.

• Increase the size limit of the heat pump for dwellinghouses from 0.6m3 to 1.5m3.

• Double the number of heat pumps permitted, from one to two for detached dwelling houses.

• Support the rollout of air-to-air heat pumps that can also provide a cooling function.

Mart wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2025 12:06 pm

GarethC wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2025 11:54 am I thought they'd recently done away with requirement to be a certain distance from neighbours?

Yep, as they keep getting quieter the England rule for PP within 1m of the boundray has been dropped. Not sure if the Welsh 'within 3m' rule has changed.

No, much talked about but I don't think it has actually come in yet. As of this afternoon the Planning Portal https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permis ... -heat-pump still says

All parts of the air source heat pump must be at least one metre from the property boundary

Yeah, I think I'm taking their word for it that the 1m rule will be removed ....... perhaps I'm too trusting.

One of mine is about 2.7m from the boundary (in Wales), so questionable. The other is about <cough 0.3m cough> from the boundary, and in front of the house, but let's not talk about that one.


Hey Nowty .... just a thought, but are you measuring from a boundary wall/fence etc, or from 'the boundary'?

For example, if you are measuring from a wall that sits on the boundary, that's 100mm wide, then maybe, just maybe you are OK? [Edit - Or ask to buy a short strip of land, 20mm wide from your neighbour.]

Yes I'm being tongue-in-cheek, but worth a shot!