Launched on April 1, the CHMM is designed to support the adoption of heat pumps by requiring boiler manufacturers to increase their share of heat pump sales.
All heat pump installations under the scheme must be registered on the MCS Installation Database, known as MID. This is to provide assurance that the installations are genuine, and to mitigate the risk of them being counted multiple times.
The requirement for heat pumps to be registered on the MID also means that installations are MCS certified. This provides an additional layer of assurance that they are being installed to industry-recognised standards, by certified installers who are using certified products.
Ian Rippin, CEO at MCS, said: “As the heat pump market continues to grow, we need to ensure that consumers are protected. This is crucial in ensuring everyone has confidence in home-grown energy. The best way to achieve this is through high-quality installations and by providing strong consumer protection in case anything does go wrong.
“We therefore welcome the move to approve MCS as a certification scheme for the CHMM, and look forward to working closely with government, manufacturers, and installers on this key step towards achieving net zero.”
How the Clean Heat Market Mechanism works
Under the scheme, manufacturers that sell more than 19,999 gas boilers to the UK market (or 999 oil boilers) must ensure that at least 6% of their total UK sales come from heat pumps in 2025/26.
They will have to pay a ‘payment-in-lieu’ for missed targets, which are set as a percentage of boiler sales above 20,000 units. While this was originally £3,000 per unit, the scheme was later revised and the amount payable reduced to £500 per unit.
A step-by-step guide for installers
MCS has created a step-by-step guide to help installers ensure accurate recording of information on a heat pump certificate, accompanied by the following advice:
“As an installer, your role in creating MCS certificates and building an accurate record in the MCS Installation Database is a critical part of certifying an installation and helping to raise standards across the sector. As the transition to net zero accelerates, this data also helps to drive industry progress, informs government and policy development, strengthens consumer confidence, and can unlock future opportunities for certified installers.
As all heat pumps under the Clean Heat Market Mechanism must be registered on the MID, installers have an important role to play when creating a heat pump certificate. To support installers in ensuring the data they enter is accurate, we’ve created a step-by-step guide to creating heat pump certificates. This provides details on what information installers need to enter during each step of the heat pump certificate journey.”
You can read the guide on the MCS website.
Image credit MCS
