Miliband: I'll stop noise rules blocking heat pumps
The Energy Secretary has promised to investigate how regulations are enforced and to relax the rules if needed, saying noise issues 'remains a big barrier' to heat pump installations.
Mr Miliband said: 'We're going to look at that, as to whether this is about the rules and the way they are being enforced and the knowledge of the rules.
'Often what I find on some of these planning issues, sometimes it's the rules, sometimes it's the enforcement of the rules and sometimes it's the awareness of the rules – and you've got to work out which it is.
'My overall approach would be to say where there are barriers, let's get rid of them if we possibly can. If the noise thing is a barrier, obviously subject to making sure there isn't a disturbance to people, which I don't think there will be, we should act on that.'
Mr Miliband was addressing Bill Esterson, chair of the energy security and net zero committee, who said one in three heat pump installations required planning consent even in cases where the machines were producing noise comparable to a computer.
The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), which sets planning standards for the devices, states that the noise from a heat pump cannot exceed 37 decibels (dB) when measured a metre away. 40dB is roughly equivalent to a quiet office or a library.
Rollout struggles
The Energy Secretary is pushing for Britain to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028 as part of his net zero drive.
Labour has already scrapped a rule requiring homeowners in England to gain planning consent to install heat pumps at least one metre away from a neighbouring property.
The one-metre requirement had originally been introduced because some systems can emit a humming sound of up to 60dB, similar to the level produced by a fridge or dishwasher.
Mr Miliband said that removing that rule had already 'made a difference' in terms of more widespread adoption of the technology.
In an awkward situation for the Energy Secretary, his own neighbours are protesting against a five-storey residential development over concerns that its six proposed heat pumps will cause noise pollution.
Justine Thornton, Mr Miliband's wife, is among those objecting to the development in their Dartmouth Park neighbourhood, calling them 'too tall, too bulky and too dense', although she did not mention anything in relation to the heat pumps.
Campaigners warned that any relaxation of existing guidance could worsen noise pollution. Andrew Montford, of campaign group Net Zero Watch, said loosening restrictions around noise would 'undoubtedly lead to conflict between neighbours'.
He said: 'When heat pumps are new, they tend to be relatively quiet, but as they age they can become very noisy.'
John Stewart, chairman of the UK Noise Association, warned that any further easing of guidelines would 'remove the little protection residents have from heat pump noise'.
He added: 'It will particularly impact lower-income people living in flats or terraced houses where inevitably heat pumps will be very close to their homes.
'Miliband would be much better insisting on high-quality heat pumps rather than loosening restrictions on them.'
A government spokesman said: 'We have seen incredible innovation in heat pump design over the past decade, with technological advances meaning they have become quieter over time and noise complaints are rare.
'We have announced changes to remove planning constraints to make them easier to install and will review their impact to explore how we can further streamline the planning requirements to support heat pump take-up.'
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