A&A Engineering Systems manufactures, supplies and installs perforated metal cages for air source heat pump outdoor units, made to fit any unit, in powder-coated steel and any RAL colour. Supplied and installed nationwide across the UK. They screen an ugly unit with a finish that suits the garden, and keep fingers and objects away from the fan.
An air source heat pump draws outdoor air across a coil with a large fan. The outdoor unit stands on hard standing at ground level, and on social housing schemes it is often in a tenant's garden, within reach of children and visitors. The guard has to keep people and objects out while leaving the unit free to breathe. A heat pump is also a bulky, industrial-looking box, so the cage doubles as a screen in a finish chosen for the garden.
The fan sits at the front of a unit that is low enough for a child to reach. A cage with fine perforations keeps fingers, and anything pushed through, clear of the blades.
Balls, lawn mowers, gravel and garden tools can all hit a unit sitting in a garden. A cage takes the knock so the casing, coil and fan do not.
Outdoor units are bulky and industrial. A cage in a RAL colour matched to the fence, brickwork or window frames makes the unit part of the garden instead of its focal point.
Manufacturers advise against boxing a heat pump in. Restricted airflow lets discharged air be drawn back into the unit, which cuts efficiency and wears the fan. Our cages use perforated panels and a vented top, sized to the unit, instead of solid sides.
A unit that cannot be easily reached cannot be properly maintained, so a cage has to open for servicing without being taken apart.
Daikin advises at least 30 to 50 cm clear at the sides of the unit and 1 m in front of the fan. Many newer units use R290 propane refrigerant, where clearance around the unit also stops refrigerant collecting near ignition sources. Distances vary by make and model, so the manufacturer's installation manual always applies.
Every cage is made to order, for a single property or a whole scheme.
Send us the make and model and we make the cage to fit, from single-fan units to larger twin-fan models.
Powder coated in any RAL colour, to suit the property or match a scheme specification.
Tell us how many units and where they are, and we will quote for the lot.
Request a quoteEvery site is different, so we survey before installation and work out exactly what each cage needs: the size to fit the unit, the clearance left around it for airflow, how it fixes, and how an engineer gets in to service it.
The cage is then made to that survey, in powder-coated steel and the RAL colour you choose.
Ask about a surveyCurrently supplying cages to a social housing scheme in the North West. We supply and install nationwide, for housing providers, installers and private owners.
Residents rarely choose the system, and tenants change over the life of a property. A cage guards the fan whoever lives there, across a whole scheme.
Guards for heat pumps installed under council retrofit programmes.
Supply a guard with the heat pump so the unit is protected from handover.
Cages for units already installed in gardens, car parks and shared areas.
Quick answers about air source heat pump cages, guards and enclosures.
An air source heat pump cage (also written heatpump cage), also called a guard or enclosure, is a perforated steel frame fitted around the outdoor unit. It keeps fingers, balls and garden objects away from the fan, and screens the unit with a finish that suits the garden.
Yes. Every cage is made to measure for the outdoor unit it protects, whatever the make and model. We can confirm the size and position on a site survey before the cage is made.
Any RAL colour. The cages are powder-coated steel, so the colour can match your fence, brickwork or house, from anthracite grey to white.
The fan on an outdoor unit is exposed. A guard stops small hands, pets and objects reaching it, which matters in gardens, shared areas and rented or social housing, where the people living there did not choose the system.
Yes. We manufacture, supply and fit heat pump cages anywhere in the UK, after a site survey to measure up.
Email info@heatpumpcages.com with the make and model of the heat pump if you know it, a photo of where the unit stands, and your colour choice. We can confirm the details on a site survey.
To price a cage we need:
Send us the details on the left and we will reply with a quote. Attach a photo of where the unit stands if you can.
Email for a quote