The redeveloped Microgeneration Certification Scheme came into effect on 1 April 2024, the scheme's operator MCS announced. The change follows a six-week consultation run earlier in 2023, in which MCS sought views from contractors, consumers, manufacturers and independent experts on how the scheme should be reshaped1.
MCS said the redevelopment resets the scheme's consumer protections. In its own words:
"We are excited to see the new Scheme come into effect on 1 April 2024, and look forward to reset the Scheme's consumer protections to give people the confidence that they need to engage with small-scale renewables."
The MCS scheme is the certification body under which installers of solar PV, heat pumps and battery storage are certified, and it sits alongside the wider landscape of installer schemes and consumer codes such as TrustMark and the Renewable Energy Consumer Code. MCS has not reported, in the material published alongside the change, which specific protections were altered or added.
The redevelopment lands after a record year for certified small-scale renewables. MCS reported over 220,500 installations registered in 2023 alone, taking its historical total past 1.7 million1. Solar PV accounted for more than 183,000 certified installations in 2023, against 138,000 in 2022, and the number of certified solar PV contractors rose from fewer than 2,000 at the end of 2022 to over 3,3001. Heat pump installations passed 35,000 for the year, a record, bringing the UK total since 2008 to over 200,0001. Battery storage grew fastest from a low base: 4,400 of the 4,700 certified batteries were installed in 2023, and certified battery contractors rose from 50 to over 8501.
On the installer side, MCS certified its 4,000th contractor in October 2023, with more than 1,800 new contractors certified during the year, a 70 per cent increase in its contractor base since the end of 20221. In August 2023 it added TÜV Rheinland (China) Ltd as a product certification body for solar panel products1. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant for heat pumps was raised to £7,500 in October 2023, after which average weekly applications for vouchers rose from 331 to 1,1721.
Why it matters for households
Certification is the mechanism a householder relies on when checking that an installer is competent and that a installation will be recognised by grant schemes and by mortgage lenders. A reset of the scheme's consumer protections therefore affects the route a household has if something goes wrong with a solar, heat pump or battery installation, and the standards an installer must keep meeting to stay certified. For a home pursuing energy independence through its own generation and storage, the practical value of the certificate is that it is the document that makes the work traceable and, where relevant, eligible for public support. MCS has not reported the detail of what changed, so the specific effect on an individual installation or complaint cannot be stated from the announcement alone.
What happens next
MCS said it would enrol the first intake of students onto the Low Carbon Heating Technician apprenticeship in September 2024, and that it had created a Growth and Development Group to support the apprenticeship's promotion, development and administration1. No further dated steps for the redeveloped scheme itself have been reported.
Sources1 cited
- 2023: A record-breaking year for MCS and small-scale renewables - MCS, mcscertified.com