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Vaillant aroTherm 15kW ASHP - problems with council

Mars · 2021-12-10T09:40:22Z

This is the second email we have received via My Home Farm and issues with councils regarding air source heat pumps. I've posted it here on behalf of the couple that contacted us to see if anyone else has experienced any such issues and if there's any advice we can share. Hi, we are having real problems getting a Vaillant aroTherm 15kW ASHP to pass our EHO at the council. It is considered too noisy for the neighbours (according to the technical data). The planning officer has now asked " can you provide any verified info as to hours of operation of the ASHP – do they need to run continuously for example?"Can you point us in the direction of anything that will help - I have asked Vaillant the same question.

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Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs)

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MBcool

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11/12/2021 9:03 am

PUBLICACCESS.STAFFSMOORLANDS.GOV.UK "http://publicaccess.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk/portal/servlets/WeeklyListServlet?s_action=dosearch&IMON_DATE=12-07-2021&ISUN_DATE=18-07-2021&IRECEIVED=19&IDECIDED=0"

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MBcool

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11/12/2021 9:13 am

Scroll down the planning page - 21 School Close, Dilhorne

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MBcool

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11/12/2021 9:15 am

All the documents can then be accessed 🙂

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Mars

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Topic starter 11/12/2021 9:50 am

@mbcool, 7m is a fair old distance. With our ASHP, stepping back 5m reduces sound greatly. Did your neighbour object?

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batalto

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11/12/2021 10:14 am

@mbcool if it's MCS it doesn't need planning so the point is void - they can't object

12kW Midea ASHP - 8.4kw solar - 29kWh batteries
262m2 house in Hampshire
Current weather compensation: 47@-2 and 31@17
My current performance can be found - HERE
Heat pump calculator spreadsheet - HERE

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Kev M

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11/12/2021 2:47 pm

There are different ways of defining loudness and it's crucial which one is used. Sound pressure level (SPL) is what you hear and what you measure. It depends on the distance from the source and the environment. Sound power level (SWL) is a theorectical measure that depends on neither. It is not measurable but calculated from the sound pressure level.

The SPL of my Ecodan is 53 dB at 1m. It's SWL is 67 dB.

I think MCS says to use SWL but the difference between them is huge in sound terms. Also, doubling the distance from the source theoretically reduces dB by 6. So theoretically @mbcool's 49dB wouldn't even pass if it were 14m away (49-6=43). That seems harsh and would probably rule out a lot of ASHPs out there. I think it's likely that actually measuring the SPL would give a lower number than @mbcool's calculation. If it were 53 dB at 1m like my ASHP, then at 2m it would be 47, at 4 it would be 41, etc. It wouldn't be long before it was just background noise.

Quite a good write up here