Soundproof wall against neighbor's heat pump

Hello,

We are currently building and made the first negative discovery during the last site visit: Our neighbor has an outdoor heat pump - outlet directly onto our property, partially the terrace.

Distance between heat pump outlet and our house wall: approx. 4 meters. It is a Viessmann V 200. Now we have a constant humming noise that can also be heard on the balcony about 6 meters away in a straight line.

Why would someone do that, poor planning or cheaper than indoor installation?

Seriously, my question: Are there products that can help? I am thinking of a soundproof wall, e.g. a 2-meter-high one along the entire border (approx. 7 meters). What recommendations or experiences are there?

Why do people do something like this? The price....the price. Solution? Get used to it. Don’t get too close. Build a boundary, wooden fence elements. It is what it is. Those things are in fashion now. Karsten

Are there products that provide relief?

Human communication is (in the first instance) free of charge.

Distance between heat pump outlet and our house wall: approx. 4 meters

How does that work?

Of course we will address that politely! Actually, we have understood each other so far. I just want to start exploring which options we can discuss. Gabions? Wooden fence with filling? Who has a sensible idea based on personal experience or professional qualification?

"4 m how can that be?" Well, it can also be 4.5, but not more, since it is densely built and 2.5 m distance area times 2 plus the distance to one's own house wall cannot be more. Are there legal minimum distances?

Hello,

Why would anyone do that, poor planning or cheaper than indoor installation?

Both... The planner makes life easier for himself and can also present a cheaper price. He doesn’t have to put up with the noise.

It will probably hardly be possible without souring things with the neighbor, unless he is directly willing to put a few thousand more on the table for a proper system with indoor installation. But then he will also lack the space, so that’s probably a lost cause.

Noise measurements and protection regulations are complex, here is a very rough overview:

The system may only emit a certain noise level, or cause a certain level of immissions at your place. The limit depends on whether you live in a purely residential or mixed area and differs between day and night. The system will (like many others) probably exceed these maximum values significantly.

Then you could (theoretically) force the neighbor through noise reports and lawsuits to relocate the system or replace it with a quiet heating system. But that will take a long time and be expensive.

The gabion wall or a pack of earplugs will probably be the better short-term solution.

Although the gabion wall is not cheap either, and it is questionable whether you are allowed to build something like that there.

Permanent peace will only be achieved through the legal process. However, you won't make any friends that way...

In an extreme case, it might be more sensible to pay your neighbor to relocate the system. Better to lay out 3-5k€ once now than pay multiple times that in lawyer’s fees and have an enemy as a neighbor for life.

Best regards,

Andreas

We already had the problem last month: