Heat pump support
in Cambridge.

Start with the
right detail.

Cambridge City Council reports that roughly a third of Cambridge’s carbon-dioxide emissions come from homes, mainly from heating, and identifies home decarbonisation as important to its net-zero vision. Its 48-home net-zero retrofit pilot upgraded 1930s properties with insulation, ventilation, solar PV, and air-source heat pumps replacing gas boilers; the council says the heat pumps provide heating and hot water and typically produce about three times as much energy as they use. Cambridge’s planning setting also includes heritage-sensitive properties: Greater Cambridge guidance says an air-source heat pump may need planning permission in specified circumstances involving listed buildings, scheduled monuments, roof placement, highway-facing walls, or conservation areas.

• Have the property postcode, heat-pump type (air-source or ground-source), manufacturer and model, installation or service history, warranty information, and photos of the unit and controller ready
• Note the fault code, when the problem started, outdoor conditions, pressure or temperature readings shown by the controls, and whether heating or hot water is affected
• Cambridge and Greater Cambridge planning guidance should be checked before external replacement or alteration work: ground-source heat pumps are described as permitted development, while air-source installations can require permission depending on the building, location, size, roof, highway, listed-building, scheduled-monument, or conservation-area circumstances
• For listed buildings, the local checklist says consent is needed for works affecting the building’s special architectural or historic character and that the heat-pump position should be shown on relevant plans; pre-application discussion with conservation officers is advised where appropriate