Air conditioning in Kensington and Chelsea

The council says nearly three quarters of the borough is protected by 38 conservation areas. Under the national rules, a heat pump in a conservation area cannot go on a wall or roof that faces a street, and a cooling only unit always needs permission. Listed buildings, of which there are many around Kensington Square and Chelsea, need listed building consent for any change to the fabric.

The council's Local Plan also says that applications for noise generating plant, including air conditioning units and heat pumps, that would have an unacceptable noise and vibration impact will be resisted. In practice, roof and rear units are approved where the noise figures are robust and the unit is screened, often with an acoustic enclosure. A clear noise assessment is the core of a good application here.

Many Chelsea and Kensington homeowners do not want a white box on a decorated wall. Ducted units hidden in a corridor ceiling, with slim grilles into bedrooms, are popular during a refurbishment, and basement conversions are an ideal time to run ducts and pipes. Where a full refurb is not happening, slim wall units placed on the inside face of a room, and pipes run behind cornices or in built in joinery, keep the visual impact down.

The time to plan is before the plaster goes on. If you have a builder or architect, we work to their programme and share the outdoor unit and noise details for the planning drawings.

In the mansion blocks of Earl's Court, Kensington Court and Chelsea Embankment, freeholder consent and the block's own rules come before planning. Many blocks only allow units in rear lightwells or on the main roof. Mews houses have no rear garden and front onto the mews street, so the mews elevation is usually off limits in a conservation area and a flat roof or terrace is the likely spot. Every case needs a site visit to judge.

Many homes in the Royal Borough have basements and front or rear lightwells. Lightwells are a common spot for outdoor units, but small enclosed ones bounce sound around, and the MCS 020 planning standard says a unit surrounded by more than three reflecting surfaces cannot pass at all. A larger rear lightwell, or a unit set on a basement terrace with an acoustic screen, usually works better. New basements are also an ideal time to run ducted cooling.