Most homeowners don’t need planning permission for a heat pump, as long as the installation stays inside a short list of conditions. Those conditions changed on 27 July 2026, and the change matters if you were planning to put the unit at the front of your house.
What the exemption covers
Heat pumps are dealt with in Class 2(d), Part 1, Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (S.I. 600 of 2001). It exempts a ground source heat pump (horizontal or vertical) or an air source heat pump on or within the curtilage of a house, provided every condition is met. “Exempted” means you don’t need to apply for planning permission, but you still have to follow the conditions.
If you are still weighing up whether to install one, start with the cost and the SEAI grant.
What changed on 27 July 2026
The Planning and Development (Exempted Development) (No. 5) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 342 of 2026) were made on 16 July 2026, published in Iris Oifigiúil on 17 July and came into operation on 27 July 2026. They replace paragraph (d) of Class 2.
The substantive change is the location condition:
| Wording | |
|---|---|
| Before | No structure on or forward of the front wall or roof of the house |
| Now | No such structure shall encroach onto a public road |
In plain terms, the blanket bar on front-of-house installations is gone. The test is now whether the unit encroaches onto a public road.
Size and position limits
Three physical limits apply:
- The combined area of the pump and any previously erected pump can’t exceed 2.5 square metres.
- The pump must be at least 50 cm from any edge of the wall or roof it is mounted on.
- The ground level can’t be altered by more than 1 metre above or below the adjoining ground.
If you already have one unit and want to add another, remember the 2.5 m² is a total across both.
The noise rule, with an example
Noise from normal operation must not exceed 43 dB(A), or 5 dB(A) above background noise, whichever is greater, measured from the nearest neighbouring inhabited dwelling.
Worked example: if background noise at your neighbour’s house is 36 dB(A), then 36 + 5 = 41, so the greater figure is 43 dB(A). If background is 45 dB(A), then 45 + 5 = 50, so your limit is 50 dB(A). In a quiet cul-de-sac the 43 dB(A) figure is the one that bites.
This is one reason placement matters: keep the unit away from the boundary and from neighbours’ bedroom windows where you can.
Before you install
- Check your installer is measuring against these conditions, not only the manufacturer’s headline noise rating.
- The conditions above come from the regulations as amended. Our two sources don’t address special cases such as protected structures or architectural conservation areas, so ask your local planning authority if your home might be in one.
- Keep a note of the date and the model specification with your paperwork, since you may need to show the exemption applied if you sell.
