MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) is the UK’s quality mark for small-scale renewable technology, setting product and installation standards for technologies such as solar panels and heat pumps. MCS Standards are shaped and updated by industry, for industry, and ensure that renewable installations are efficient, durable and safe. They are the result of collaborative work with the various MCS Technical Working Groups. In this piece, Lucy McKenzie, technical manager at MCS, explains how the Technical Working Groups operate and why they are important.

MCS Standards are integral to the world of small-scale renewables, allowing for the certification of products, installers and installations, giving us all confidence to invest in these technologies for our homes.

Because they have this crucial role to play, it’s important that the industry plays an equally crucial role in their development. Our standards need to reflect the realities of the world of small-scale renewables to ensure they meet the needs of consumers, installers and manufacturers, building trust in a sector that is growing and will shape the way we heat our homes for years to come.

That’s where our Technical Working Groups come in.

How the Working Groups contribute

The active participation of the Working Groups boosts the reputation of the entire small-scale renewables sector and helps deliver on the MCS mission to give everyone confidence in home-grown energy.

We benefit from a wide range of independent expertise and insight from across industry to make sure the requirements in our standards are relevant, rigorous, technically accurate and are driven by changes in market conditions and technological advancements where required.
They work hard to maintain the technical accuracy of our Standards as well as their fairness, relevance, rigor and currency, as well as occasionally taking part in the drafting of the Standards themselves.

There are more than 200 experts from across the sector involved in our eight Technical Working Groups, made up of contractors, installers, manufacturers, educators, independent specialists and representatives from trade associations, certification bodies and consumer groups.
It’s an active responsibility too, with more than 30 Technical Working Group meetings taking place in the last year and a half alone, with 531 attendees in total. That’s more than 60,000 hours of expertise volunteered in the name of strengthening the integrity of the small-scale renewables industry.

Collaboration with MCS

Our role with the Working Groups is to facilitate their activity by conducting research on industry developments and analysing their potential impact, as well as the effect that updates to the standards might have. We also participate in the technical authoring, along with volunteers from the groups.

The Working Groups are overseen by our Independent Chair of MCS Standards, whose role it is to ensure that the impartiality of the Scheme is protected at all times and that any changes to standards follow a formal process.

This is also the responsibility of the MCS Approval Committee, which makes sure that the changes are properly considered, adhere to governance processes and, where appropriate, incorporate any necessary feedback from industry, gathered through public consultation.

As you can see, the creation and updating of our Standards is a hugely collaborative effort that draws upon the expertise and experiences of a large number of people, as well as the checks and balances that ensure they are fair and relevant.

That is how we can be sure that MCS Standards are playing their part in giving consumers confidence that their small-scale renewable energy installations will be safe, durable and effective, as long as they are carried out by MCS certified installers.

As the UK moves towards cleaner and greener energy, the MCS Technical Working Groups will continue to play a hugely important role in getting us there.

Visit the Standards and Tools Library here to see the scope of MCS Standards.