Hello,
We want to install an external until to our house that is part of the air to water heating pump system.
I am not an expert but the company that will take care of the installation already installed a frame on the top of the house that indicates the position of the future unit.
I know that this is a typical process in Switzerland in order to secure if neighbors have any objections.
We already received an invitation from our neighbors to discuss this project because as they told us they don't want to see this until from their houses (they live in a house behind our house).
I have all the good intension to hear them and respect any rule but does anyone know if they have the right to stop this installation?
It was not our desicion to put this until there since we asked the experts of the installation company for this. But on the other hand we don't have an alternative since the current heating system is oil heating and very old . Soon it will broke and I have no intention to pay a fortune to fix it
Thanks for the help and the replies
They can object to the installation but they need a good valid reason and being ugly to look at isn’t one of those.
When our neighbour needed to install a new heating system and went for the warm air pump he needed all the immediate neighbours to sign to say that they agreed to the project.
It’s on the opposite side of the street from us so we had no objections at all but the neighbours directly next to him had a few questions about noise levels before they signed.
They told us that they can see it (looks ugly for their aisthetics) and they also afraid that if we do it then all the rest of the houses next to us (they are all identical old buildings attached to each other) will do the same and they will have more noise.
I am going to have a discussion with them but I'm advance I want to know if they can stop the installation or not with these arguments.
Doubtful. Unless they are a cousin of the Syndic. Check around your neighborhood and try and identify how many similar installations are within eyesight of your neighbours.
Any reason why it is not being installed downstairs?
Actually there is an article on RFJ website about exactly this - they interview someone I think in Fribourg Canton that had their application refused due to neighbour's objections - but before you panic - it does not say what those objections were so hard to say if your neighbours have a case.
Apparently in Basel Stadt they are so keen for people to change old heating systems to more efficient ones like heat pumps that they have passed a law that exempts heat pumps from the planning regs.
I am sorry you are stuck in this issue but it is probably best to speak to someone local who has more of an idea as to what is objectionable or not.
Thanks for the info and answers. It is quite fustraiting because the current old system is for sure not sustainable. On the other side we are not allowed anymore to install an oil heating system and when we asked the specialists they told us that the only place to install the new sustainable system is on the top of the building. Even the specs for noise have low decibels! So what is more important? To install a new sustainable system as proposed or hear a neighbor because he doesn't like the view of it? It is completely controversial but for sure I will talk to all locals. A bottle of wine for introducing as a present always also helps !
Your neighbour may be a constant complainer, ask at the commune. I had a friend who had a neighbour object to the colour he wanted to paint his new built house. Despite being exactly the same shade as other nearby places.
Apparently this guy had complained about everything he could with the building process. Eventually the commune authorised it.