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Installer grants and incentives

MCS

Installer grants and incentives

Being an MCS certified installer allows you and your customers access to multiple Government grants and incentives, read about which ones are available to you below.

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A guide to grants and incentives for installers

Do you install small-scale renewable energy systems to heat or power homes or small businesses? As an MCS certified installer, you can apply for a range of government grant incentives that can make switching to home-grown energy more accessible and affordable for your customers.

MCS certification is a requirement for accessing many UK government incentives. MCS certification gives consumers confidence to invest in renewable energy, by ensuring their installation is installed and maintained to industry-recognised MCS Standards.

Find out how to become MCS certified.

MCS is an eligibility requirement for the various incentive programmes available, but we do not administer any of these schemes.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Are you an MCS certified installer of low-carbon heating systems in England or Wales? If so, you are eligible to apply to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme comprises £1.5 billion of total support set until 2028.

You need to be an MCS certified installer to apply and register for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to provide your customers with the grant.

Installers will be required to lead the voucher application on behalf of the consumer. Installers are also expected to discount the value of the grant from the total cost paid by the consumer and include this in their quote.

Read more about the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for installers
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Smart Export Guarantee

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) will ensure that households and businesses with small-scale renewable technologies earn money by selling any extra electricity they generate from their renewable installation back to the National Grid through their electricity supplier.

You will need to be an MCS certified installer to guarantee access to a regulated SEG export tariff. Energy suppliers often ask consumers for their MCS certificate to confirm this.

MCS certification (or equivalent) will be a requirement to qualify for the SEG, helping to safeguard high standards in the industry.

Read more on the Smart Export Guarantee
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Scottish Goverment's MCS Certification Fund

The Scottish Government’s MCS certification fund provides heating engineers with an interest in installing heat pumps (either air, ground or water source) with a grant to become MCS certified on heat pumps.

The grant will pay 75%, up to a maximum of £1,000, of the certification fees and will run until funds run out or until the end of March 2025, whatever comes first.

Please note, this funding is not retrospective if you are already MCS certified for a heat pump technology.

Read more on the MCS Certification Fund
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Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan

If your customer lives in Scotland, they could benefit from a Government grant and/or an interest-free loan for investing in a range of low carbon technologies.

Consumers can access the following funding:

  • Up to £16,500 to install a heat pump (a £7,500 grant plus an optional £7,500 interest-free loan; or a £9,000 grant plus an optional £7,500 interest-free loan if they qualify for a rural uplift)
  • Up to 75% of combined costs of home energy efficiency improvements (a grant of up to £7,500 or £9,000 if they qualify for a rural uplift)
  • Up to £6,000 for energy storage systems as an interest-free loan

The loan is only available for properties in Scotland.

Find out more
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The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF)

Are you an MCS certified installer in England? If so, you are eligible to apply to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund aims to improve the energy efficiency of socially rented homes across England. Local authorities must apply for the funding, though Private Registered Providers and Registered Providers can apply as part of a consortium with an LA in England.

You must be MCS certified and Trustmark Registered to install renewable technologies under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

Find out more
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