Greater London · Heat pump installation
Heat pump installers in Chinatown
Looking for air source heat pumps in Chinatown? We look at the job first, give you a fixed-price quote and do the work at a time that suits you, finishing with proper records.
- Deciding which kind of heat pump suits the home
- Questions about where the outdoor unit can go
- Wanting to stop using oil, LPG or gas for heating
About our air source heat pumps in Chinatown
Many air source heat pumps can be installed as permitted development in England, without a planning application. Conditions include a maximum outdoor unit size of 1.5 m³, compliance with MCS 020(a), use for more than cooling alone and a site outside the curtilage of a listed building. We look at the planning position for your home during the survey. We’re often asked to deal with questions about the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and replacing a combi boiler with a heat pump, across air-to-water heat pumps, underfloor heating and homes heated by oil, LPG or gas.
In a London area like Chinatown, many homes are flats or terraces with little outside space, which affects which heat pump suits. Air-to-water needs room for the outdoor unit and normally a cylinder, while air-to-air units take less room.
Refrigerant work is written up in the F-Gas records: what was done, the refrigerant type and any amount added or recovered. Keep the records with the manual and the warranty documents, as a manufacturer or a future engineer may ask to see them.
- Place
- Chinatown (W1F, W1D, W1T)
- Region
- Greater London
- Prices
- £8,000–£16,000 (0% VAT on homes), before the grant
- Approvals
- NICEIC and F-Gas, MCS
- Pricing
- A fixed price before work begins
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Last updated
- 30 October 2026
Different systems, different jobs
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme
In England and Wales, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers grants towards heat pumps: £7,500 for air-to-water and ground source, and £2,500 for air-to-air in limited cases. The installer applies.
Outdoor unit position and planning
Where the outdoor unit goes depends on airflow, access and the route into the house. We also consider neighbours and noise, as MCS 020(a) includes a noise check.
What you can do yourself, and what needs us
Some faults have simple causes you can check first: check the mode, the set temperature, the remote’s batteries and the breaker. If the breaker trips a second time, leave it off and ring 07833 053749 or fill in the contact form.
On air conditioning, the filters in the indoor unit are usually the one part owners can clean where the manufacturer’s manual explains how. They come out, get a gentle clean and go back only when they’re dry. On a heat pump, the equivalent is keeping the outdoor unit clear and checking the controls.
Towns and villages near Chinatown
Also in Chinatown
Air source heat pumps around Chinatown
The Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures put about 50% of homes in and around Chinatown before 1919, and about 97% of households live in flats, according to the last census (2021). In older homes, the heat loss calculation is especially important, as solid walls and draughts change the size of heat pump needed. In flats, space for an outdoor unit and a cylinder can be limited, and the lease and freeholder come into it, so air-to-air is sometimes the better fit. For a London home, the outdoor unit position and the MCS noise check need careful planning.
Homeowners near Tottenham Court Road station often ask whether a heat pump can take over from the boiler, and the heat loss survey answers that. Older homes near St Anne's Church may need extra checks for planning and heat loss before a heat pump is designed.
Chinatown is about 1 mile east of City of Westminster, in Greater London. Properties in Chinatown get the same service as everywhere we cover: a look at the job first, a fixed-price quote and written records at the end. Across Greater London, we cover 764 places, and Chinatown is one of them.
The closest recent job we can point to from Chinatown was on East Hill, Wandsworth (SW18), about 5 miles south-west: installing a Daikin wall-mounted unit in the open-plan living area.
We cover every part of W1F, W1D and W1T and the streets around it. You will find streets such as Duck Lane, Drury Lane and Bruton Lane, each of them within reach. Places around Chinatown that are also on our list: Soho (1 mile north), St James's (1 mile south), West End (1 mile north-east), Seven Dials (1 mile north-east) and St Giles (1 mile north-east). Within a short drive, we also cover Kensington (3 miles west), Shoreditch (3 miles north-east), Walthamstow (7 miles north-east) and Hoxton (3 miles north-east).
What’s near Chinatown
Around Chinatown, our work takes us to homes and businesses near LITE Regal International School, London Library and Waxy O'Connor's pub, among other places. You’ll also find St Anne's Churchyard (within half a mile north-west) and Harris Westminster Sixth Form (0.8 miles south). Chinatown has its own railway station: Tottenham Court Road station. Well-known places in the area include Leverian collection (within half a mile south-east) and Montfichet's Tower (1.3 miles east). The countryside around Chinatown includes Barnsbury Wood and St. James's Park Lake.
Common questions in Chinatown
Can I fit a heat pump in Chinatown without planning permission?
It comes down to the building and the spot chosen for the outdoor unit. The centre of Chinatown is in the Leicester Square Conservation Area. On a house, an air source heat pump can often go ahead under permitted development, with an outdoor unit of no more than 1.5 cubic metres and an installation that meets MCS 020(a), which includes a noise check. Those rights do not reach the grounds of a listed building, and conservation areas rule out walls or roofs facing a road. If that might affect you, we ask Westminster council, which is typically the planning authority for Chinatown.
Do I need permission to put air conditioning in my flat in Chinatown?
Usually, yes, though leaseholders normally need the freeholder’s agreement. We look at where the outdoor unit could go, such as a balcony, flat roof or rear wall, and write it up for the freeholder or agent.
What does F-Gas certified mean?
The law says any company working on equipment containing F gas has to be certified, and the engineers need their own qualifications. It means the refrigerant in your system is handled legally.
Will my home qualify for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?
We check the scheme rules for your property before you go ahead. As the installer, we make the application where you qualify.
Do you work on commercial properties?
Yes. From one rented home to commercial buildings, we work the same way: survey or diagnosis, a fixed price and proper paperwork.
Who is responsible for leak checks?
Whoever operates the equipment, together with the technicians who service it. Systems below 5 tCO2e fall outside the set leak check intervals, while larger ones need checks at least every 12 months, or every 6 months from 50 tCO2e. We can tell you which band your system falls into.
Will you make a mess?
Protection goes down first: sheets over the floor and nearby furniture. Holes and fixings are agreed with you, and we clean up afterwards when we finish.
What we do, step by step
We book the visit for a day and time that suit you, and we keep you posted if anything changes. When we arrive, we check the job against the survey or the photos you sent. If something is different, we talk it through with you before carrying on. After that, it takes a few days for most air-to-water installations, with air-to-air systems often quicker. If your building in Chinatown has a managing agent, a concierge or sign-in rules, mention them when you book.
- First we find out about the property, the heating you have now and what you’re hoping for.
- The survey measures heat loss room by room and looks at radiators, hot water and the best spot for the outdoor unit.
- A fixed-price quote follows, setting out the system, any grant that applies and the VAT.
- The outdoor unit, the indoor equipment and the controls are installed and connected.
- The system is commissioned and registered under MCS, and we show you how to use it.
How to prepare
- Let us know where the consumer unit is
- Arrange for someone to be there to let us in
- Make sure we can reach the outdoor unit, or where it will go
Get a fixed-price quote
Need a price for air source heat pumps? Please give us a ring on 07833 053749 or send an email with a few details about the property. We will talk you through the options and give you a fixed-price quote before anything is booked.
Advice
Managing agents and facilities teams in Chinatown
When the building owner and the occupier are different, it’s worth checking the agreement for who looks after the system. We are happy to deal with either side and send the records to whoever needs them.
We work for landlords, letting agents and managing agents as well as homeowners and businesses. Tell us who the contact on site is and who should receive the paperwork and we will copy in whoever needs it.
A customer’s words
“Excellent service from start to finish. Two wall-mounted units installed in our home. Clean, tidy work: they protected all the floors and left no mess. The systems work brilliantly. Would highly recommend.”
Sarah M., East Grinstead