Hospitals, mental health units and ambulance stations across the country are fitted with such panels, with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband looking to expand the scheme exponentially.
Before the announced change, homeowners needed planning permission if they wanted to install a heat pump within one metre of their neighbour's property.
Chris O'Shea, chief executive of Centrica, said he was 'frustrated' at the 'misinformation' that renewable energy will bring down costs for households.
Mrs Miliband Justine Thornton has joined a neighbourhood campaign against a small block of flats being built near their £3m Victorian home.
Many object to its 'noisy' heat pumps
The Oscar-nominated actor, 48, is among residents in the Dartmouth Park area urging Camden Council to reject proposals to transform an existing property called Lamorna.
If Ed Miliband and National Grid get their way, Ardleigh will soon be scarred by a line of 160ft pylons on one side and a 400ft-wide trench for cables on the other.
Ed Miliband is ramping up his Net Zero zealotry, despite the blackout chaos that the failure of wind and solar brought to Spain and Portugal this week.