Heat pump without planning permission: 2026 rules

An air-source heat pump or a ground heat pump system at a house needs no planning permission if all the heat pumps there cover 2.5 m² or less and the other conditions below, including the noise limit, are met. Since 27 July 2026 the unit no longer has to stay off the front wall and front roof; it only has to keep off the public road.

The conditions

The rule is paragraph (d) of Class 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as replaced by S.I. No. 342 of 2026. It applies to a heat pump installed on a house or within its grounds.

Condition	Limit
Total area of the heat pump and any earlier ones	2.5 m²
Distance from any edge of the wall or roof it is fixed to	at least 50 cm
Ground level raised or lowered	1 m at most
Noise in normal operation, measured at the nearest neighbouring home that is lived in	43 dB(A), or 5 dB(A) above background noise, whichever is greater

The unit must not encroach onto a public road.

What changed on 27 July 2026

Before the 2026 change, a heat pump could not be put on, or in front of, the front wall or roof of the house. That condition was replaced by the rule about the public road. The size, distance and noise limits are the same in the old and new texts. The Department's circular describes the change as no longer restricting heat pumps to the rear of the property.

Before you install

An exemption does not apply in some cases, for example if the work would break a condition of an earlier planning permission or extend an unauthorised structure (article 9 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001). If you are unsure whether your installation is exempt, you can ask your council for a declaration under section 5 of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

A heat pump outside these limits needs planning permission: see the fee for work to a house, and apply to your council or at planning.localgov.ie.

Related rules: external wall insulation, removing a chimney, and the drawing of the house.