What is an MCS certified installer?
An MCS certified installer is an installation company certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme for one or more renewable energy or low-carbon technologies.
MCS certification is commonly associated with technologies such as solar photovoltaic systems, heat pumps, battery storage, biomass, solar thermal and other small-scale renewable technologies.
Importantly, certification can relate to particular technologies. When researching an installer, it is therefore useful to look beyond the company name and check the technologies for which the installer is listed or certified.
What is MCS certification?
MCS is a UK certification scheme covering small-scale renewable energy and low-carbon technology installations. It provides standards relating to both products and installation companies operating within covered technologies.
For customers, MCS certification can be an important part of choosing an installer and may also be relevant to particular government-backed schemes, incentives or installation requirements.
For businesses researching the renewable energy market, MCS information can also help identify companies operating in particular technologies and areas of the UK.
We cover the subject in more detail in our guide to MCS certification.
Technologies covered by MCS
MCS installers can work across a range of renewable and low-carbon technologies. Common categories include:
- Solar photovoltaic (Solar PV) systems
- Air source heat pumps
- Ground source heat pumps
- Battery storage
- Biomass systems
- Solar thermal systems
- Micro combined heat and power
- Small-scale wind systems
- Hydro technologies
A single installation company may appear against multiple technologies, so technology-specific information is particularly useful when building supplier lists or researching a particular part of the renewable energy market.
MCS certified, approved, registered or accredited?
Searches for installers use several different terms. You may see people searching for MCS certified installers, MCS approved installers, MCS registered installers or MCS accredited installers.
These phrases are often used informally to describe companies associated with MCS, but they should not automatically be treated as technically identical descriptions.
When verifying a company, useful information can include its current certification status, certification number, certification body and the technologies associated with that certification.
We explain the terminology separately in MCS approved, accredited, registered or certified installers.
MCS solar installers
Solar PV is one of the best-known technologies associated with MCS. MCS solar installers are companies certified for relevant solar photovoltaic installation work.
If you are researching the solar industry, filtering installers by Solar PV can help separate relevant installation businesses from companies focused on heat pumps, biomass or other technologies.
See our dedicated guide to MCS solar installers in the UK for more detail.
MCS heat pump installers
Heat pump installers form another important part of the MCS installer market. Relevant technologies include air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps, alongside other heat pump categories.
When researching heat pump companies, checking the specific technology associated with an installer is more useful than relying solely on a general MCS reference.
We've covered this separately in our MCS heat pump installers UK guide.
How to find MCS certified installers
The best method depends on why you need the information.
A homeowner looking for an installer for a particular project will usually want to search for suitable installers serving their location and then verify the relevant certification and technology.
Businesses conducting market research, supplier research, partnership or industry analysis may instead need installer information in a structured format that can be filtered and analysed at scale.
We explain the different approaches in our guide to finding MCS certified installers.
For totals of MCS installer listings by technology and county, see Data Menu's technology study and geography study. These show counts only, not individual installers.
Figures are Data Menu's count of installer listings shown in the public MCS 'Find an Installer' search, grouped by county and technology, as at 15 October 2026. This is independent analysis, not official MCS statistics. Data Menu is independent of MCS and is not the official MCS directory. To find an installer or check current certification, use the MCS Find an Installer search, especially where it matters to an installation, purchasing, eligibility or compliance decision.