Acer Mechanical Services Ltd: MCS heat pump certification

There are many reasons why heating installers are seeing a rise in demand for heat pump installations.

The Scottish Government is committed to phasing out fossil fuel boilers across Scotland in off-gas areas from as early as 2025 and in on-gas areas from 2030.

Homeowners are also becoming more aware of the benefits of installing heat pumps and are conscious of their carbon footprint.  

Jonathan Daly took these two things into consideration when he decided to diversify his business, Acer Mechanical Services Ltd, into heat pumps and apply for the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). 

MCS certification shows that both the products and installer comply with recognised industry standards. It also assures customers that the installer has been assessed and can install the renewable technology that the customer has chosen.

To help him with the certification costs, Jonathan applied for a grant from the Scottish Government’s MCS Certification Fund via Energy Saving Trust. This grant pays 75% of the certification and consumer code fees (up to a maximum of £1,000) for heat pumps. 

Jonathan has been installing heat pumps for 10 years and managing his own business – with three employees – for a year. His business mainly installs air source heat pumps, traditional gas boilers, underfloor heating, radiators and plumbing. He already had qualifications in plumbing and heating in addition to a BPEC level three heat pump qualification. 

Jonathan has seen the demand for renewable heating rise, so he’s put air source heat pumps at the forefront of his service portfolio.  

Jonathan said: “This sector exploded after COP26. I want to be on top of it and push the renewable side of my business as we work towards our net zero targets.”  

Since gaining the MCS certification, Jonathan has boosted his installation numbers. “Having the backing of MCS is like having a stamp on our business that we’ve done all the training, we’ve done all the checks and we’ve got all the correct qualifications to install heat pumps for customers,” he said. With the accreditation, MCS consultants are also on hand to help with any technical questions or advice.  

So, how could gaining MCS accreditation help you boost installation numbers? For starters, having this certification means your business qualifies to feature on Energy Saving Trust’s Renewable Installer Finder (RIF) tool.

Since putting his business on the RIF tool, Jonathan has seen an increase in demand for heat pump installations. “We’re probably getting around two to three enquiries a week and that’ll be down to customers finding our details on the RIF tool,” he said. Around 70% of the enquiries Jonathan’s getting are for heat pumps.

Going through the MCS certification process for heat pumps, Jonathan found the application relatively easy.

He also found that the installation quality was the most important part of the audit, which is the practical side of the process and didn’t take very long, rather than the administration work. He said:  

“MCS wanted to grade the quality of the installation, and in total it took around two hours. I made sure I was on top of my paperwork and that really helped the speed of the process.” 

At least 50% of homes in Scotland will need to convert to a low carbon heating system, such as heat pumps, by 2030. To meet this installation target, Scotland will need 5,100–12,700 heat pump installers.

Businesses like Jonathan’s have already started to see a spike in demand for heat pumps, and that’s only likely to increase as we approach 2030. 

If you want your business to move to installing heat pumps, you’ll find this guide on how to become a heat pump installer in Scotland helpful. It’ll tell you what qualifications you need and the colleges offering courses.  

If you’re already installing heat pumps or thinking about starting, getting an MCS certification could get you more work because all Scottish Government-funded schemes require MCS-certified installers to install heat pumps. There’s also funding available to help you with the certification fees.  

Take your first step and find out more about the MCS certification scheme and register your interest for the MCS certification grant for heat pumps.