MCS has said it will extend its customer outreach to every household receiving an MCS certified installation, across all technologies and regardless of how the work was funded, as its redeveloped installer Scheme is rolled out throughout 2026 and into 2027. The announcement came on 2 February 2026 alongside figures from its existing Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) outreach programme, which it has run on behalf of the energy regulator Ofgem since July 20221.
Under that programme, MCS contacts grant recipients within a few months of installation and asks whether they are happy overall with the work. Of the 72,142 customers contacted since the programme began, MCS reports a 95% satisfaction rate. In the last full quarter, October to December 2025, 10,380 customers were contacted with a 96% satisfaction rate1. MCS states that the figure reflects satisfaction with the installation rather than with the technology itself, and that recipients who say they are not satisfied are given information on the complaints process and routes to redress1.
The programme covers heat pump installations delivered under the BUS, with a small number of respondents using the grant towards a biomass boiler. Findings are shared with Ofgem and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. MCS says the data is used alongside its own database to monitor BUS installations and has supported the detection of non-compliance, with some installers having had their MCS certification suspended and losing access to the BUS as a result1. All BUS installations must be MCS certified, meaning delivered by an MCS installer, using MCS certified products and installed to MCS Standards1.
"Under the redeveloped installer Scheme, set to be rolled out throughout 2026 and into 2027, we will be conducting outreach to all customers who receive an MCS certified installation, across all technologies and regardless of how the installation was funded."
| BUS outreach figures | Since programme began (July 2022) | Last full quarter (October to December 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Customers contacted | 72,142 | 10,380 |
| Satisfaction rate | 95% | 96% |
Why it matters for households
An MCS certificate is the document that shows an installation was carried out by a certified installer to a recognised standard, and it is the certificate that grant schemes and some energy suppliers ask for. The MCS guide sets out how the scheme works and what the certificate covers. For a household, the change means that a wider group of people will be asked directly about the quality of the work done on their home, not only those who claimed a BUS grant. That includes installations funded privately or through other routes.
The practical effect is a broader check on the firms doing the work. MCS says its data has already led to certification being suspended for some installers, which removes their access to the BUS. Extending the same monitoring to all technologies widens the pool of installations where problems can be spotted and acted on. Households weighing up a heat pump or other measure can also read how retrospective certification works if paperwork was missed at the time, and what registration is required for oil boiler installers.
What happens next
MCS says the redeveloped installer Scheme will be rolled out throughout 2026 and into 2027, and that it will continue to publish key BUS outreach figures periodically on the same page1. No start date for outreach under the redeveloped scheme, and no date for the next set of published figures, has been reported.