Heat Pump Installation in Central Auckland

Central Auckland is the hardest part of the city to fit a heat pump in, and not for technical reasons. The houses are lovely old villas and bungalows with high ceilings and single glazing, the sites are narrow, the neighbours are close, and a good number of properties sit under a character overlay or a body corporate. Where the outdoor unit can legally and sensibly go is usually the first question, not the last.

Villas, bungalows and the height problem

Ponsonby, Grey Lynn, Mount Eden and Mount Albert are full of 1900s to 1920s kauri villas and the bungalows that followed them. Studs run high, the ceilings are lath and plaster, and the original sash windows are single glazed. A room that measures modestly on the floor holds far more air than the same footprint in a modern build.

That means the unit is sized on volume, not floor area, and on how much of the heat goes straight up. Your installer measures the height as well as the room, looks at what is above the ceiling, and sizes for the house you actually have.

Scrim and board walls with no insulation lose heat steadily all evening, so these homes do better with a unit that holds a low continuous output than one that runs hard and stops. Ask what the output is at 7 degrees rather than the headline rating.

Character overlays and where the outdoor unit can go

Large parts of central Auckland sit under a special character overlay. In practice that restricts what can be seen from the street, which is exactly where people assume the outdoor unit will go. It does not stop you having a heat pump, but it does decide the position.

The workable answer is almost always the side return or the rear, out of sight from the footpath, with the pipework taken through the subfloor or the ceiling rather than across a visible elevation. That is more work than bolting it to the front wall, and it is the difference between a tidy install and one you regret.

Your installer will tell you at the quote whether your property looks like it needs consent and what the realistic positions are. Nobody here can give planning advice, so check with Auckland Council if the answer matters before you commit.

Apartments in the CBD and Newmarket

Auckland Central and Newmarket are mostly apartments, and an apartment is a different job again. The body corporate owns the exterior, so the outdoor unit's position, the penetration through the wall and often the brand are not entirely yours to choose.

Get written approval first. It is the single thing that stalls these jobs, and it is much easier to ask before a quote than to unpick afterwards. Where a balcony position is allowed, drainage and noise to the neighbour below are the two things that decide exactly where it sits.

Some buildings only permit a console or a high-wall on an internal wall with a long stretch of pipework to a shared plant area. The types of heat pump page covers what each format needs, which is worth reading before you approach the committee.

Tight sites, close neighbours and noise

Central sections are narrow and the boundary is rarely more than a couple of metres away. Outdoor units are not loud, but a unit mounted on a shared boundary wall pointing at someone's bedroom window will eventually become a conversation.

Position it away from the boundary where there is any choice, on a bracket or stand that is not transmitting into the cladding, and with clear air around it so it is not working harder than it needs to. Good siting also makes later heat pump servicing possible without a ladder over the fence.

Remuera and Epsom are the exception on space: larger sites and larger houses, where a ducted system is often the better answer than four separate high-walls, if the roof space allows it. See the installation cost page for where that lands on price, and the detail of how the job runs on heat pump installation.

Suburbs covered in Auckland Central

• Auckland Central
• Ponsonby
• Grey Lynn
• Mount Eden
• Mount Albert
• Epsom
• Remuera
• Newmarket

Somewhere else in the region? Your local installer also covers North Shore, West Auckland, East Auckland, South Auckland and Pukekohe & Franklin. The full list is on the areas we serve page, or get a free quote for your place.