On an end terrace the outdoor unit wants a wall you own that is lawful under the Planning Portal conditions and quiet for bedrooms. The flank is the usual non-party wall, and it often fronts a side road, a footpath or a tight boundary. The party wall is the wrong place for a bracket: the neighbour hears it through the structure. Rear or garden positions are often kinder if the flank faces the street. One condenser is an easier planning case than two on a house that is not detached. The circuit is F-gas work.
An open flank beside a side road or a footpath
End terraces have one attached neighbour and one open flank. The flank feels like free space. It may be the elevation that fronts a highway, or it may sit within a small gap to the next boundary. In England, Planning Portal conditions for air source heat pumps cover highway-facing positions and distance to boundaries. Read them against the flank before you drill. Treat the flank as a possible highway frontage. Measure the gap to the boundary.
Vibration through the wall you share
The shared party wall will carry compressor vibration into the neighbour's rooms. Do not hang the condenser on it to save pipe. A ground stand in your rear yard, on your side of the boundary, is often the better conversation. That sends vibration into the neighbour's house if you use the shared wall. Use your rear or a stand on your side of the boundary instead, if those spots pass the siting rules.
Night noise between a thin pier and a close fence
Ask for sound power, the night figure, and mounts that break the vibration path.
- Treat the flank as a possible highway frontage.
- Keep brackets off the party wall.
- Measure the gap to the boundary.
- Prefer one outdoor unit unless you have checked a second.
Your bedroom on the flank, their room beyond the pier
Your bedroom may be on the flank. Their living room may be the other side of a thin pier. A unit facing a close fence reflects sound. Leave the manufacturer's air gaps so it does not get louder by starving.
Indoor units in the rooms you actually shut
A lawful outdoor spot does not cool a closed bedroom from a hallway head. Put indoor units in the rooms you shut, with pipe runs that can be longer than the shortest flank route. Lids on the trunking stay removable. Use an F-gas certified company for the circuit. Energy Saving Trust explains the air-to-air heating side if you also want heat. Neither document picks the flank for you.
Wrong when a second condenser is treated as free
On a house that is not detached, more than one air source heat pump can fall outside permitted development. The Planning Portal summary is the place to check current unit counts. Do not add a second condenser on the assumption the first one used up nothing. Often an end terrace cannot have two outdoor units without permission. The end wall is the right place only if it is lawful and quiet.
Core buying guides
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Related guides
Sources and further reading
How this guide was prepared
This guide was written by the Local AC Installers Editorial Team. We compare official guidance, legislation and established consumer information, separate general information from project-specific advice, and show publication dates and sources. We do not accept installer accreditation claims at face value.