Living by the sea is lovely, but if you’re fond of sand dunes and salty air, you should consider some important guidance on siting a heat pump because chances are that your heat pump isn’t as fond of the salty air as you!. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Permitted development rules in England were changed in 2025 and now rely on MCS 020 (and its updates) for many domestic ASHP installs. (mcscertified.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n From late May 2025 amendments to permitted development rules made it easier to install ASHPs without planning permission in many domestic cases, but the installation must comply with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) planning\/install standards (MCS-020 \/ MCS-020a<\/a>) and other PD (Permitted Developments) conditions (size limits, noise, locations, etc.). Installers should demonstrate compliance with MCS documentation where PD is claimed. Always check for conservation areas\/listed buildings\/existing planning conditions which can still require consent.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Noise & siting<\/strong>: Latest MCS<\/a> guidance contains sound-calculation and siting obligations installers will use to show an installation meets PD\/no-nuisance rules. Where neighbours are close (typical in coastal terraces), installers often need to demonstrate predicted noise at neighbouring fa\u00e7ades is acceptable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Few manufacturers publish official minimum coastal setback distances, most talk about protecting units from direct sea winds or salt spray, not precise statutory distances. Its up to you to engage with the installer as your warranty could become null and void if the recommended distances are breached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Below is a quick snippet to what recommendations are from some manufacturers out there. Please do your own research, but hopefully these guides will help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bottom line – Ask the Installer whether a coastal-protected variant exists. If there is an approved coastal option, prefer that over improvised fixes<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n If its windy, salty and you can see the sea, chances are you want the unit protected.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n If the property is at flood risk, raise the outdoor unit above the expected flood level (or base flood elevation). Industry guidance and consumer guides recommend elevating critical outdoor equipment on a secure platform at least above likely flood levels, this reduces risk of mechanical and electrical damage. Example manufacturers \/ resources to check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coastal installations are more site-sensitive than inland ones. Your best outcomes come from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Installing an Air-Source Heat Pump (ASHP) near the coast, what to know, rules to follow, and what manufacturers recommend. Living by the sea is lovely, but if you’re fond of sand dunes and salty air, you should consider some important guidance on siting a heat pump because chances are that your heat pump isn’t as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heat-pumps"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mywarmhome.co.uk\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mywarmhome.co.uk\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mywarmhome.co.uk\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mywarmhome.co.uk\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mywarmhome.co.uk\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1199"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mywarmhome.co.uk\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2668,"href":"https:\/\/mywarmhome.co.uk\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199\/revisions\/2668"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mywarmhome.co.uk\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mywarmhome.co.uk\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mywarmhome.co.uk\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mywarmhome.co.uk\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Regulations and planning, the essentials.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What manufacturers say about coastal installations.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Practical siting, mounting and flood considerations (coastal specifics).<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Manufacturers often publish guidance\/diagrams showing recommended distances for untreated units, if you\u2019re in the spray zone (wind-driven salt), insist on a coastal model or coating.
Regulations may be in place that manufacturers specify distances from the coast, but If I’m having a heat pump installed, I think i can gauge if I’m near the sea!\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n
Elevation for flood zones.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The .GOV<\/a> website can give you some useful info on potential flooding. (other areas of the UK are linked though the .gov site)<\/p>\n\n\n\nMaintenance & service recommendations for coastal installations.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A homeowner\u2019s checklist (before you book the installation).<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Final notes.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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