In preparation for its redeveloped installer Scheme, MCS says it has invested in key areas over the last two years to ensure a greater focus on quality outcomes for both installers and consumers, with this expansion continuing throughout 2026 and beyond.
MCS, the UK’s quality mark for small-scale renewables like solar panels and heat pumps, will be rolling out its redeveloped installer Scheme over the next 12 months, to make certification simpler and more rewarding for installers, while reforming consumer protection in the industry.
Over the past two years, MCS has made significant investment into building and expanding its Customer Experience function by over 50% – to strengthen consumer protection, enhance installer oversight, and improve support for households across the UK investing in renewable technologies.
This function now brings together five specialist teams:
Complaints: A new centralised system providing a clear, transparent route for complaint resolution, reinforcing trust and accountability.
Quality: Thirteen new Quality Verifiers joined in 2025, conducting around 500 on-site compliance checks per month to strengthen oversight and consumer protection.
Customer Relations: Onboarding specialists and Account Managers supporting installers through application, certification and ongoing compliance, with robust checks to minimise consumer detriment.
Outreach: Under the redeveloped Scheme, the team will contact every household with a certified installation to explain documentation and protections. An Ofgem BUS outreach programme has recorded a 95% satisfaction rate.
Customer Support Helpdesk: Provides timely guidance to installers, consumers and other stakeholders.
MCS also appointed Jim Johnson as Certification Body Partnership Manager to strengthen engagement with certification bodies and support delivery of the redeveloped Scheme.
These investments support the Scheme across onboarding, certification, compliance and monitoring, while strengthening partnerships across the sector. They come amid record growth, with 369,000 certified installations in 2025, and ahead of the government’s £15bn Warm Homes Plan.
As certification bodies achieve UKAS accreditation for the redeveloped Scheme, the installer transition phase will begin shortly, with updates available on the MCS website.
Ian Rippin, CEO at MCS, comments:
“2026 is set to a defining year for MCS and the small-scale renewables industry, building on the momentum of a record-breaking 2025. It has been great to welcome so many new people to the team, and I look forward to working with them to deliver a redeveloped Scheme that works for everyone.
“The redeveloped installer Scheme has been designed to adapt to the accelerating demand we are seeing in the UK, putting consumer protection and quality first to give people the confidence they need to invest in home-grown energy.”
For more information on MCS’ recent investments, visit their website.
