Welsh Government publish ASHP Noise & Permitted Development Reports

Sustainable Acoustics have collaborated with Apex Acoustics to complete an extensive piece of work on Air Source Heat Pumps Noise and Permitted Development Rights in Wales. The report was published yesterday by Welsh Government, and it can be found here:

Written Statement: Publication of the “Air Source Heat Pump Noise & Permitted Development Rights in Wales” report (phase 1 & 2) (11 January 2024) | GOV.WALES

The Minister for Climate Change, Julie James MS said "We wish to encourage residents to transition from fossil fuel heating to low carbon alternatives, but without creating noise nuisance. Therefore, we commissioned acoustics experts to investigate this distance rationale, to obtain and review related evidence, and to recommend whether the PDRs should be changed".

Peter Rogers, the Managing Director who delivered the Phase 1 and 2 reports says "It is great to see our work published, which uses acoustics to provide an evidence-based set of recommendations for the Welsh Government in this important area for tackling climate change. We have considered carefully how the rollout might occur without causing people undesirable noise impacts to themselves or their neighbours, and how PDR might assist the rollout to pick up the pace of delivery. Noise is a factor that needs considering in the selection and positioning of units, and through our work we hope will be a part of accelerating delivery of a sustainable future, using acoustics, which is our vision as a carbon neutral company"

Phase 1 report deals with the evidence supporting noise being one of the biggest factors constraining deployment in Wales.

The Phase 2 report identified key findings from the work, recommending that the 3 m rule should be removed as one of the big ones.

These reports on ASHP Noise & Permitted Development published by Welsh Government signify a huge step forward in moving to low-carbon alternative solutions in Wales.