19 August 2024
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Image: Ian Rippin, CEO at MCS
Labour’s win presents a pivotal opportunity for a new Government to demonstrate its commitment to accelerating the UK’s transition to low-carbon heating. As Ian Rippin, CEO at MCS explains, the next few years will be critical in driving consumer confidence in renewables through high-quality installations, Government funding, and the redeveloped MCS.
Heat pump data from the MCS Data Dashboard – reference for small-scale, renewable energy installations in the UK – shows that we’re on track for a recordbreaking year for heat pumps. There were 4,568 MCS certified heat pump installations in June, which makes it the fourth month running to exceed 4,500 installations. The average monthly installation count for 2024 is now 36% higher than the average monthly count for 2023 (which was itself a record-breaking year). It’s evidence that more homeowners are making the switch to low-carbon heating, bolstered in part through Government initiatives such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).
Boiler Upgrade Scheme driving heat pump uptake
The BUS remains a critical part of the drive to make low-carbon heating more accessible and affordable. It provides £7,500 towards the installation of a heat pump, and contractors must be MCS certified to qualify for the BUS grant. This ensures that all installations under the BUS are carried out by quality MCS certified contractors, who install to industryrecognised standards. The latest Government figures show the number of applications to the BUS continues to rise, with almost 3,000 applications made in May 2024. This is up from the 2,380 applications in the previous month, which was itself an increase on the 2,138 applications made in March. This shows that an increasing number of homeowners are taking advantage of the incentive, and when you compare the latest Government BUS figures with those of last year, the results are even more encouraging. BUS applications in May 2024 were more than double May 2023, and when comparing Jan-May 2024 with the same period last year, applications are up by 71%.
We hope the continued success of the BUS demonstrates to the new Government that increasing the accessibility and affordability of heat pumps is key to driving uptake, whilst ensuring a seamless transition to low-carbon heating that works for everyone.
Renewables a nation can trust
It's important to recognise that the uptake of low-carbon heating isn’t just about incentives, but also about giving consumers confidence in low-carbon heating technologies. This is where MCS has a key role to play, because it creates and maintains the standards that allow for the certification of low-carbon products, installers and their installations. These standards are created by industry, for industry, with input from MCS Technical Working Groups that are composed of a diverse range of contractors, manufacturers, trade associations and certification bodies from across the small-scale renewables sector.
This ensures they are fair, accurate, rigorous, and ultimately raise standards across the industry. It’s therefore encouraging that more consumers than ever value the importance of using an MCS certified installer, especially when many are investing in technology that is often unfamiliar to them. These consumers understand that MCS certified installers hold the necessary skills to install technologies like heat pumps to industry-recognised standards.
A skilled renewables workforce fit for the future
As more consumers invest in low-carbon technologies for their homes, demand for skilled and competent installers will only increase. Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan pledges to create 650,000 jobs across the country by 2030, and we’d hope to see the creation of a wealth of jobs in support of cultivating a skilled renewable energy workforce that is fit for the future. If we’re to hit Government targets of 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028, it’s critical that we have dedicated training pathways to develop a generation of renewable heating installers, who know how to design and fit low-carbon heating systems to the highest possible standard. Last year MCS helped to develop the UK’s first ever dedicated Low Carbon Heating Apprenticeship in collaboration with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), as well as a trailblazer group of heat pump installers. Apprentices on the course are learning the knowledge, skills and behaviours to design, install and commission low carbon heating technologies, such as air source heat pumps and solar heating, to industry recognised standards. Dedicated training pathways like this are crucial in ensuring the renewables industry has the capacity to meet future demand, and there are details on how contractors can get funding support on the Government website1.
The new MCS
As the UK’s quality mark for renewable technology, MCS has an important role to play in the future of low-carbon heating by raising standards and building consumer confidence. In Summer 2023, we ran a consultation on a series of proposed changes to MCS that are designed to make the Scheme clearer, fairer, and more transparent. We received feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, including consumers, trade bodies and installers. Based on this feedback, we are now making the final preparations ahead of the launch of the new and improved MCS in January 2025. The new Scheme will make it as easy as possible for installers to understand how they can continue doing what they do best, which is delivering high-quality installations to their customers. The new Scheme will therefore move away from paperwork-heavy assessments towards an emphasis on ‘delivered quality’. Compliance assessments will focus on capturing the evidence that an installer’s quality processes and controls are delivering installations that work effectively, are technically sound and are compliant with our Standards. This all comes back to consumer confidence – we want to make sure that everything we do has a positive impact on the quality of installations, as the next few years will be critical in driving consumer confidence in renewables.
What now?
We are in the process of finalising the Scheme documents and continue to work closely with Certification Bodies to ensure they are ready to hit the ground running when the changes launch in January. In the autumn we’ll publish all of the new Scheme documents, alongside guidance and support to help installers get ready. 2025 will be a transition period as we move everyone over to the new Scheme design, so installers should continue with current Scheme requirements until their Certification Body gets in touch to transfer them over. Over the next few years, we anticipate continued demand and growth for lowcarbon heating technologies, and hope to see the new Labour Government demonstrate their commitment to accelerating the UK’s transition to cleaner and greener energy.
For more information on what the new Scheme means for installers, visit: https://mcscertified.com/mcs-scheme-redevelopment
Source
1. www.gov.uk/employing-an-apprentice/get-funding
