If you are looking at having a heat pump installed you may have asked your self is having a MCS accredited company/installer mandatory or worth it?
It depends, as with most things in life:
Yes it is worth it…if:
You want your installation to be surveyed, designed and installed to the highest industry standard (that is not to say non MCS heat pump installers are a lower standard, it means they have not been assessed and confirmed to be of MCS standards by a third party).
The government boiler upgrade scheme grant is something you want to utilise. The BUS grant offers up to £7.5k toward the cost of you installation on an air source heat pump, in some cases that may cover the cost of the entire install, in most it does not but it is a HUGE help toward it.
You want an insurance backed guarantee for the work carried out, for peace of mind. MCS installers MUST have this insurance to adhere to MCS standards.
No it is not worth it…if
You have no need for the boiler upgrade scheme grant (B.U.S.), are not eligible or have no desire for the highest of industry standards to be adhered to.
You have an installer in mind that you know and trust to be well versed in the design and installation of the heat pump system so that it matches your heat loss on a room by room basis with the correct sized emitters and pipework for your heat pump to heat your home effectively.
If an insurance backed guarantee is of no use or interest to you.
Why are MCS installations sometimes more expensive than others?
It is often the case that a genuine MCS accredited installer has been through significantly more complex and expensive training than other heating engineers to ensure that all the elements of a correct system design have been factored in for your installation to be efficient, safe and correct.
Many (too many, sadly) heat pumps have been almost literally thrown in by plumbers and gas engineers with no training or understanding of what these heat pumps mean for a heating system. This leads to very very expensive electricity bills and a poorly working system which may or may not heat your home.
If your heat pump is installed poorly and your system not upgraded where it needs to have been then you WILL end up paying more money irrespective of how cheap you got the install for.
Correctly surveyed, designed and installed heat pumps utilize less energy, in some cases by a large margin, than a gas/oil/LPG boiler.
Installing a heat pump in an ill prepared house is like asking a refrigerator to keep your food cold whilst putting a hot roast straight from the oven inside….it may “work” to some degree but at what costs to your wallet and the life span of the fridge.
The expenses associated with maintaining MCS accreditation are much higher than for a normal heating engineer, often running into multiple thousands each year.
Additional costs include MCS membership, consumer code memberships, competent person schemes membership, system management processes and insurances for example. None of which are mandatory for non MCS installers.
Although it is likely you will pay more for the expertise of MCS heat pump installers you should also come out with a better, safer and more cost effective heat pump installation.
We are fully MCS accredited and are proud to offer you the B.U.S. grant of up to £7.5k.
Why not get and estimate today?