MCS has teamed up with the Energy Saving Trust to create ‘Go Renewable’ which simplifies the whole consumer process, from discovering which technologies are suitable for their home to receiving detailed quotes from MCS- qualified installers.
It’s also designed to significantly simplify and speed up the process for installers by providing them with all the information they need to quote for a job, without having to go out for additional checks.
Installers registered for the scheme will get qualified leads directly to their inboxes, from consumers who have been equipped with relevant knowledge throughout the process.
The pilot scheme is focusing on installers and consumers who are physically located in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Bristol and Oxfordshire.
However, anyone can use the tool to find out which technologies are suitable for their home.
How it works
- Consumers can use the online assessment tool to find out what their options are for installing renewables at home and create a personalised home energy plan. This stage is free for anyone to use and doesn’t involve any commitment.
- Anyone who wants to progress can book a home survey to get an in-depth report and updated energy performance certificate from professional assessors who are specially trained in providing this particular survey. There is a one-off fee of £300 for this part which also negates the need for multiple surveys by different installation companies.
- Details are sent to a number of qualified MCS installers in that area who are registered with the scheme. They can decide whether to quote for the job, and submit their costs via the Go Renewable dashboard ready for customers to view.
The benefits
We spoke to Daniel White, market development director at MCS, to find out more about the benefits of the Go Renewable scheme for consumers and installers.
“This brings the reputation and reliability of two trusted brands together to simplify the home upgrade process,” he said.
“The Energy Saving Trust is very good at consumer awareness, especially in Scotland. We’ve worked with them to adapt their Energy Finder tool in Scotland for consumers in England.
“It gives a pretty good view on whether your home is suitable for technologies such as an air source or ground source heat pump, a biomass boiler, solar PV, solar hot water panels and electric battery.
“That’s where most tools of this nature stop, but with Go Renewable they can take it all the way to installation. We’ve worked with Elmhurst to develop a new home survey that includes an EPC and additional information and photographs that an installer would need in order to provide a quote.
“MCS-registered installers can apply to join Go Renewable and receive reports to quote on. Because installers are all providing quotes against the same data set, they should all be within around 10% of each other.
“This consistent assessment should give the buyer greater confidence about what they’re paying for, rather than receiving three wildly different quotes that they have to interpret.
“It’s great for installers because they receive the information they need. In addition, consumers who have come through this funnel will be more confident in what they want.”
The pilot has only been live for a couple of months and will run for as long as required to provide a decent data set about its efficiency. This will include feedback from installers around the level of information included in the home survey.
Thousands of people have so far used the online tool to complete the initial phase, and the first batch of completed assessments are ready to go out for quotes from qualified installers.
Daniel said: “Just having access to the online tool is a great thing in itself. More people are gaining an understanding of the potential of their property for renewables and we now have people who have progressed to the next stage of having the home assessment carried out, which includes an EPC.
“It means we can use that awareness generated through the Energy Saving Trust to bring more people to the quality of MCS installers.”
More assessors desperately needed
One of the initial issues identified from the pilot scheme is a lack of assessors able to carry out the home survey.
MCS and the Energy Saving Trust are looking for people who are already DEA, URA or PAS retrofit qualified assessors. They will need to undergo two days of additional training with Elmhurst to be able to carry out the more specialist surveys.
“We do have a need for more assessors to undergo the specialist training. This will initially focus on surveys on homes in the pilot areas, although the aim is for the scheme to eventually be rolled out across the UK. It’s a bit chicken and egg at the moment, but we do expect the work to be there,” Daniel said.
More information for assessors interested in training, installers who want to register and anyone who wants to find out about their home’s suitability, is all available on the Go Renewable website.
Image credit: MCS
