Air Source Heat Pumps - Noise nuisance for neighbours

Not_Sleeping_Too_Well

It seem strange how all the posts on this forum relating to Air Source heat pumps are by people getting very excited by having green energy. There are few comments on the effects on their neighbours.

Any references to noise are quickly dismissed as irrelevant.

We have a neighbour who has installed a large double-fan Air Source Daiken machine for his medium size stone barn conversion.
The machine is parked in a corner on a hard standing which projects and focuses the sound directly onto our façade which is about 14m away.
When the Air Source machine is in tick over, we hear the hum of the motors with the rushing sound of the fans. When the machine switches to higher power mode (when the ambient temperature drops to near zero, or when the demand's higher from the house), then the sound is audible behind our closed windows and sounds similar to a diesel lorry on tick over in their property.

I have contacted the Environmental Health Dept of our council, and they surprisingly have little or no knowledge of the noise impact of these machines.
My concern is that we have to convince them somehow that this near constant hum is disturbing our 'right to a peaceful life' in our property.
The manufacturers have designed machines which produce a very 'wide' sound with no one frequency being particularly loud, so the overall decibel readings may not be high enough to constitute a nuisance.

Does anyone have experience with sound nuisance orders and how we can make a convincing case for the EHO office?

Does anyone agree that these machine are only quiet for the householder who live behind the fans;and depending on size and siting, they can be very detrimental for neighbours?

[Deleted User]

Myself and several others have all commented that they can sound like was washing machines. And yes we are just about aware it is running from inside the house.

As you say especially noisy at this time of year when the units are working harder.

Not an issue here as have no neighbors but an install in a village local to us has an Ecodan pointing at a neighbors house only meters away. I can see that as being an issue...

Without playing down the noise these units can make it is the same if you are on holiday or live in a hot country. We are just back from the Maldives where every villa has aircon running 24/7.

I would add that it is not just ASHPs, many oil and lpg flues make quite an annoying whine too.

In fact my installer commented recently he has had to deal with noise complaints from ASHPs so perhaps steps can be taken to reduce the noise impact?

Hope it gets sorted for you.

PS Just had a thought. Does the unit sit on big rubber feet to reduce noise/vibration? That does make a difference.

albyota

Hi, you will find lots of info here

From page 14

http://www.microgenerationcertification.org/admin/documents/MCS%20020%20Planning%20Standards%20Issue%201.0.pdf

42dBA 1 metre from a habitable room window.

However, any level of noise can affect people in different ways, Daikin units are actually nearer the top of the list of the quieter heat pumps.

You might get better results if you can discuss this with your neighbours first, they may not be aware of your situation, rather than going down the ugly, costly route.

Hope you can resolve this.

Al

Not_Sleeping_Too_Well

Thanks for the link - I hadn't found that particular pdf.

Most of the ASHP control work seems to be going on in Scotland who take it all more seriously.

Of course standard boiler flues are now noisier than they used to be, but they are only working for relatively short periods where as ASHP tend to be used for underfloor heating (or at least that's what our neighbour is doing) and so the ASHP runs on and off at any time of day - in fact it runs pretty well 24 hours.

I would hope this will stop when his screed is dry and will revert to a classic timed boiler approach, but I somehow feel these things tend to run constantly albeit at low speed.

The noise of an ASHP is pretty mild for short periods of time - the problem is that they run for long periods and dig into your subconscious creating noise stress.

We have talked to our neighbours, but they are unbelievers and refuse to take our plight seriously.
It may be something to do with the fact that he has installed the ASHP on a listed building without planning permission, and is now going for retrospective permission which I'm told by planning can take up to a year with appeals etc. Also local councils are strapped for cash and I can see them giving into the applicant just to avoid costly legal work.

The joys of house ownership in a once quiet location...

dullnote

Hi I had a ASHP fitted a couple of months ago, I had to obtain planning, the environmental officer was out to carry out a per install assessment before I was granted permission. I had to say type size of pump and hand over the manufactures information, he even wanted to know where the pump was to be sited and what direction it would be facing.

I do stay in Scotland and know the planners took the serious, taking about two months to get permission.

Never had any of the neighbours complaining, mose are interested in how it works and how much I am saving, they all have LPG, wonder how many will change next year

Remember not all ASHP are equal

Also had some installers saying planning was not required Buyer BeWare

Dull note

southcoastrgi

if you can hear a boiler running from outside someones house i think you need to see a doctor not the local council

Swipe

southcoastrgi wrote: »

if you can hear a boiler running from outside someones house i think you need to see a doctor not the local council

I disagree, my neighbour's oil boiler flue is louder than my air con heat pump at full pelt. In fact, I can even hear their flue going at night inside my bedroom with the windows shut.

suki1964

southcoastrgi wrote: »

if you can hear a boiler running from outside someones house i think you need to see a doctor not the local council

Usual helpful post

I too can hear next door 's boiler when it fires up.


And we are detached with a fair distance between houses

southcoastrgi

suki1964 wrote: »

Usual helpful post

arrrrr thanx, shucks i bet you are just saying that

suki1964

southcoastrgi wrote: »

arrrrr thanx, shucks i bet you are just saying that

Was just sharing Christmas cheer

LittleVermin

southcoastrgi wrote: »

if you can hear a boiler running from outside someones house i think you need to see a doctor not the local council

I can certainly hear my LPG boiler's flue when I'm outside - fortunately my neighbour is some way away in this very quiet hamlet. I would not be happy if they installed an ASHP that I could hear! And, jeepjunkie, we don't live in the Maldives so that's quite irrelevant (I used to live in north Africa so air con was par for the course...though just somehow I survived without it!).

Maybe southcoastrgi thinks I - and everyone else who can hear gas boilers' flues - should "see a doctor" to get too good hearing fixed?
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