Are there noise limits for heat pump water heaters and how can I prevent noise from my system impacting on my neighbours?
Clause 52 of the Protection of the Environment Operations (Noise Control) Regulation 2008 prevents the operation of heat pump hot water systems on residential premises during certain hours of the night and early morning if they are impacting upon neighbours. Heat pumps may not be used in ways that produce noise to a habitable room of a neighbouring residence during the following hours: • 10 pm to 8 am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and • 10 pm to 7am on any other day. They must not cause offensive noise at any other time. These requirements aim to stop noisy heat pumps from being installed in poor locations, that is, too close to a neighbour’s bedroom or living area, where the noise may disturb people in their homes. Advice may be needed to site and install heat pump water heaters correctly and existing systems may need to be acoustically treated if noise is affecting neighbours. Guidance on the installation of heat pump water heaters is included in Appendix 3 (10799Part5ng
