Electrics and gas
An air-source heat pump stands close to a bedroom window and no noise reading was taken. What has the survey not measured, and what service record is separate?
The survey has not measured the noise, and it has not measured a separation. The heat pump stands close to a bedroom window, which is a position the inspection could see. No noise reading was taken, so there is no figure for how loud it is at that window. The service record for the unit is a separate document: servicing, commissioning or warranty papers the survey did not produce. The report has described a location. It has not tested the pump and it has not stood in for that record.
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?
An air-source heat pump is a machine outside the wall. Closeness to a bedroom window is relevant because noise and airflow meet the room there. Relevance is not a measurement. The surveyor did not use a meter and did not set out a distance. No limit in metres is stated here, because none was taken and none will be invented. Whether the installation meets any rule is for someone instructed to check the unit, with its papers. The home survey stopped at what was visible.
Ask the seller, through the solicitor, for the heat pump's service and commissioning record, and keep it apart from the survey. If noise is the worry, that needs a reading by someone instructed to take one. Do not tell a lender the survey measured the sound or cleared the position. It did neither. The window and the pump were seen. The record and the reading were not.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you see the pump by the bedroom window without taking a noise reading?
- Was any separation left unmeasured?
- Is the service record a document you did not produce?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the service record separate from the survey note.
- Do not say the noise or the distance was measured.
- Arrange a noise reading only if you need one.
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 pump was off, has the noise been proved low?
No. A pump that is off makes no noise to measure, and no reading was taken. Silence on the day is not a level. The survey has not measured the sound of the unit when it runs. Off is not a test.
Does a thick window close the noise question?
No. Glass is not a measurement. The survey has not measured noise and has not measured how far the pump stands from the window. A service record is still a separate paper. The window does not create either. Neither the reading nor the record was made.