Who is BU? Neighbour's heat pump

[ThePlatypusAlwaysTriumphs]

Help to resolve a dispute between DH and I.
Neighbours have installed a heat pump on the side of their house close to our boundary. It is very noisy! DH is not happy with the noise level, he has researched and regulations state should be no more than 42 dbs from our side. He's measured it as 60 dbs and 58 just outside our bedroom. He has sent an email to neighbour asking him to check it out, but no reply.

Relevant back story: We have lived in our house for 17 years, with no close neighbours (woodland). Couple of years ago the land was sold and developed. DH and I had different opinions on this- he thought having a house there was a good thing for security, I was really upset at the destruction of the trees.

Things got worse when they "accidentally" tore down our hedge (outside our fence but inside our boundary). There was then a boundary dispute, we had to pay for a land survey to resolve. Eventually "resolved" but boundary still not completely adhered when they erected fence.

So things were a bit awkward, then we had months of noisy building/ builders. Neighbours finally moved in and I was happy to let it all go for the sake of good relations. Have spoken to them briefly and all OK.

Now DH is complaining about the noise of the heat pump, where it doesn't really bother me that much and I would rather leave it. Especially as we have dogs that occasionally bark, and I'm sure we make noise of our own at times. I really don't want to be on bad terms with them- the reason we left our previous house was that our neighbours were horrible

Who's BU- DH or me? I think DH is being a bit petty, he thinks he is right to complain and that they are taking the piss! It was his idea to ask MN....

(Sorry about the essay, trying not to drip feed!!)

Maths was never my strong point! Definitely reports.

We have a heat pump and it is below our bedroom window, it is so bloody annoying!! I don't know anyone that has one at a level that you wouldn't hear it, I only wish we had put ours far away from the house as in cold weather it seems to be on all the boody time!

What? You think it’s ridiculous to be upset about trees being cut down and natural habitats being destroyed to make way for housing?
Are you aware of the significance of trees and how beneficial they are to the planet or is your IQ so low it’s a waste of time explaining?

@TheJanuaryPinks Go to bed dear and put the Babycham away.

When does a building fall into the 'older' category. Our house was built in 1910- so its 114 years old, Pil in 1934 so it's 90 years old. Is it pointless for us. We don't have cavity walls so I'm not sure how we'd get wall insulation.

A quick Google suggests this is normal no I’m not sure you’ll be able to do anything. Sounds really annoying.

😂 Well said. My favourite response. People like @TheJanuaryPinks are quite vile.

Definitely report them to the council. I wouldn't even wait for a response (which likely isn't coming) from the neighbours.

I walls report to environmental health and get them out. You shouldn’t have to live with noise like that 24/7

Heat pumps in some circumstances require planning permission.
This video will show you how to work out if they needed planning permission.

I forgot the link

Your neighbour sounds a lot nicer than ours. On the other hand we do have a hot tub in the garage.....Can't imagine why your neighbours had it running all the time, DH would never allow such a waste of electricity!!

When you say 1m from your boundary and just outside your bedroom, do you mean outside in the garden or inside your house? If it’s very noisy surely it would disturb the neighbours too. I was told they produce the same noise as a fridge (but I was told that by a market research person who may have been trying to sway my answers!)

Thank you!

It's on the outside of their house, at ground level, about 1.5m from our boundary. Our house is about 3m from the boundary, our bedroom upstairs on that side

Is there a fence between your house and the heat pump? If not, could you put one up? It might bounce the sound away from your house a bit.
We recently installed double glazing in my house and have been amazed how much less noise we hear from the street, if that's an option for you?
But you might want to try calling the council environmental health team and asking their advice. They may come and measure the nose, which would help you and them know whether there's further action could be taken.

Sorry didn’t word my question right, I meant was the noise level measured inside or outside the house. But if your house is 3m from the boundary I guess it was measured outside

Local authority should intervene to require a noise assessment by an acoustic consultant. They will specify an enclosure to contain the noise. Its a standard planning requirement for air conditioners but as usual the Tories have "cut red tape" for ASHPs without thinking of the consequences.

Yeah, DH measured in our garden and just outside our bedroom window

Let's be charitable and say @TheJanuaryPinks has been cast adrift away from their roots in the natural world. But I like the "actual psychopath" response better!

There must be tons of charities whose purpose completely baffles Pinks. My mind is boggling at such a sad level of ignorance.

60dB??! That would drive me insane!

60dB about the same as normal conversation. 40dB is more like a whisper.

Anyone who thinks “normal conversation” levels doesn’t sound too bad, try whispering “whirwhirwhirwhir” next to someone then try it in your normal speaking voice to see how annoying it is 😂

I’m with your DH!

My brother’s house was quite noisy from the noise of a neighbouring pub’s fans.

He built some baffles to deflect the noise - quite a cheap effective solution. But a bit hit and miss as to whether they’d work. Fortunately they do.

It may be that the fans need to be mounted on absorbant/rubber feet? It may be that they are unbalanced/have loose internal components/are faulty?

Measuring of sound levels, certainly in terms of legality/officially a nuisance is quite technical. Whilst diy meters will give a guide in terms of enforcement you’d need calibrated devices and technical help. Your council should be able to help.

Your husband is right to want to do something about it, though I understand your own hesitation or reluctance to get into something with neighbours. As far as the council goes, remember they work for you, so do not hesitate to ask them to deal with an issue, however many other issues have arisen that fall to their responsibility.

I've experienced something a bit similar thing here when neighbours got planning permission to convert the garage, which is just the other side of the boundary fence, into a habitable room. Next thing I knew they've installed a shower room in it and I hear this humming noise from an extractor fan on the back wall. This is when I'm in my sitting room. I hear it through the double glazing, not loud but still annoying. I am dreading that the next thing will be a heat pump as they get everything new as it comes out.

What brand is the heat pump? Mitsubishi? We live in an area where they are very common (we have 2). One of ours was noisy but it was due to a bent fan blade and also due to the platform it was installed on. Once those two things were fixed, it was not at all noisy so they should be able to deal with it. That said, I think there are just a couple of really reputable heat pump manufacturers (Mitsubishi and Daikin) and a lot of others that are pretty sub standard, so if they have one of those, maybe it'll just be noisier.

Agree with your DH too, but also, of course you were upset at the destruction of the trees and wildlife! Ignore the poster laughing at you, hell of a lot weirder to not give a shit about that than it is to be upset about it.