News

OFTEC to offer heat pump assessments to installers

OFTEC, the trade organisation for the heating and cooking industries in the UK and ROI, is helping its installers to seize the opportunity offered by the growth in renewable heating technology.

Heat pump installer

With the UK drive to meet tough targets for carbon emission reduction over the next few years, OFTEC is working on a range of heat pump assessments working with manufacturers, certification bodies, technicians, training centres, and MCS.

Domestic renewable heating technology is seeing significant growth and OFTEC renewables registration, particularly MCS certification, enables installers to maximise this business opportunity.

It is estimated that by 2028 the UK will need 600,000 heat pump installations each year to meet home heating decarbonisation targets and the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) will need around 30,000 certified business to meet this demand – a large increase on the current number which is approximately 1,000.

It is hoped that the assessments will be available during the second quarter of 2022, and will consist of three options:

  • Air source heat pump (ASHP) installation
  • Ground source heat pump (GSHP) installation
  • Design of heat pump systems

Due to the modular nature of the course being designed, these will be able to be taken as stand-alone assessments or combined as required. It is anticipated that they will follow the same structure as the existing Oil and Solid Fuel assessments offered by OFTEC, and by working closely with MCS they will be able to be used for MCS registration.

Easy MCS partnership

Help is at hand for both large and small businesses interested in registering for MCS. OFTEC is partnered with Easy MCS which is part of Evergreen Energy and provides registration support services. These include training on the paperwork that is required for MCS, access to a bespoke Quality Management System designed around the MCS requirements and an easy-to-use online installer toolkit. OFTEC registered businesses benefit from a discounted membership to Easy MCS. For more details, please click here.