Electrics and gas
An air-source heat pump sits on a bracket and the condensate drips at the wall. What noise, defrost and leak tests were not part of the home survey?
Noise, defrost and leak tests were not part of the home survey. The air-source heat pump was seen on its bracket, and the condensate was seen dripping at the wall. That is a visual note of where the unit sits and where water was falling on the day. It is not a measurement of noise, not a run through a defrost cycle, and not a test for a refrigerant leak. The survey has not decided that the pump, the bracket or the drip is satisfactory.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
A heat pump makes noise in use, sheds water when it defrosts, and holds refrigerant the surveyor does not sample. A drip at the wall may be ordinary condensate, a pipe that is discharging too close to the masonry, or something else. One visit cannot separate those by watching a drip. The bracket can be described as a support that was seen. It was not load-tested, and the fixings into the wall were not pulled or calculated.
If noise, defrost behaviour or a suspected leak matters to the purchase, instruct a heat-pump engineer as a separate visit. Ask the seller for installation and service papers and give them to your solicitor. The home survey should stay as the record of a bracket and a drip. It should not be rewritten as a commissioning test, and it has not produced one.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where was the condensate actually falling: on the wall, into a drain, or onto the ground?
- Did you run a defrost cycle, or only see the unit at rest?
- Have you left noise and refrigerant leaks as not tested?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the note as a bracket and a drip, not as a performance test.
- Ask the seller for the heat-pump installation and service papers.
- Instruct a heat-pump engineer if noise, defrost or leaks must be checked.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the drip is small, has a leak test been passed?
No. A small drip can be ordinary condensate from the heat pump. It can also be a pipe discharging against the wall. Either way the survey did not test for a refrigerant leak, and the size of the drip is not that test.
Does a wall bracket mean the pump is quiet enough for the neighbours?
No. The bracket only shows how the unit is held. Noise depends on how the pump runs, and the survey did not measure it. A still unit on the day of the visit is not a noise result. A still unit is not a measured noise result.