Air conditioning in Camden

The council lists 40 conservation areas covering about half of the borough, including Hampstead, Bloomsbury, Belsize, Primrose Hill and Kentish Town. People in Camden search specifically for "camden air conditioning planning permission", which reflects how often it comes up. The national rules allow a heat pump that also heats to be permitted development on a house, within strict limits. In a conservation area it must not face the street, it must pass the 37 dB(A) noise calculation at the neighbour's window, and it cannot be used only for cooling. Flats rarely qualify, because the right applies to a whole block and allows just one unit for it.

For most Camden flats, then, it is a planning application with drawings and a noise assessment, plus listed building consent where the house is listed, as many Bloomsbury and Hampstead houses are.

The Greater London Authority's heat risk mapping identifies higher risk for homes towards the centre of London and names Camden among the boroughs affected, because of its high share of flats. Top floor flats under Victorian roofs in Kentish Town, converted lofts in Tufnell Park and flats with big south facing windows over the busy Camden Road and Euston Road, where windows stay shut against noise, are the typical cases. A quiet split system in the main bedroom is often the first step.

In a converted house, the rear wall at ground or lower ground level, or the flat roof over a back extension, is usually the best place for the outdoor unit. Pipes can run up through a cupboard or along a rear elevation in a neat cover. For upper flats, longer pipe runs to a rear roof are common. We plan the route so it avoids cornices and original joinery, and so the condensate drain has a proper fall to a waste or soil pipe.

West Hampstead, Belsize Park and parts of Swiss Cottage have large red brick mansion blocks managed by agents. As in Westminster, the agent usually decides where any outdoor unit can go, and many blocks prefer the main roof or rear lightwells. Expect a licence for alterations with drawings, unit details and noise figures, then a planning application. Pipe runs to the roof can be long, so the indoor unit is often placed on an inner wall close to a riser or cupboard.