Bean Beanland discusses the launch of the Heat Pump Federation affiliate membership programme

22 June 2023

Bean Beanland, Director of Growth & External Affairs at the Heat Pump Federation (HPF), shares his thoughts on the importance of industry collaboration as MCS and the HPF celebrate the launch of their joint affiliate membership programme.

The Heat Pump Federation was formed as an organisation to push for government policy supporting the electrification of heat. We work to achieve a medium to long term policy landscape which supports electrification as the cornerstone of UK heat decarbonisation.

We also aim to build the UK market for heat pumps by raising public awareness and campaigning for a financial environment that makes low-carbon heat affordable and accessible for everyone.

MCS and the Heat Pump Federation

The HPF encourages high installation standards and provides a platform for exchanging information and industry collaboration. The Federation’s ongoing programme of consumer engagement and education, and its activities with all arms of government, are vital in pursuit of the ambitious UK target of 600,000 installations a year by 2028, which will only be achieved by embracing all heat pump types, and through genuine collaboration across the built environment.

An important element in our activities to raise the profile of heat pumps in the UK, championing collaboration and high-quality installations, is our work alongside MCS. While our primary ask of Government concentrates on permanently lowering the price of increasingly low carbon electricity through rebalancing of social and environmental levies and by decoupling the price of electricity from the high international costs of gas, many of our secondary asks are focused on installed quality, building requirements, and installation assessments.

Installation standards which are developed by industry professionals for industry, such as those developed by the MCS Heat Pump Working Group, are not only vital for ensuring high-quality installations, but should be referenced in Building Regulations, so that all consumers, including those purchasing a brand new build home, enjoy the same high degree of protection across the board in the small-scale renewables sector as they invest in low-carbon heating and energy.

The future of the industry

The current consumer protection provisions, and the level of assessments seen across the renewables industry in the UK are not fit-for-purpose. MCS needs to strengthen mechanisms to robustly deal with contractors who are not complying with the standards and to provide consumer protection and confidence above and beyond what is provided in the traditional fossil fuel industry. It is critical that consumers can see that their low carbon heating systems will be held to a high standard and there are genuine protections, should something go wrong. In parallel, we need to grow the number of skilled people working for certified heat pump contractors, ensuring that they, too, get the highest levels of support.

I was delighted to welcome the next step in the development of MCS when they published their intentions to redevelop the Scheme recently and put the proposals out to public consultation. The need for improvements they highlighted have also been borne out in the Federation’s own programme of homeowner and community engagement.

Consumer protection is vital to consumer confidence, and consumer confidence is the only route to mass adoption of heat pump technology. The proposed changes that MCS is setting out will provide levels of consumer protection that are unrivalled in the domestic heat sector. The twin approaches of enhancing consumer investment security, with progress on the development of installer skills and responsibilities, are key building blocks for the delivery of the decarbonisation of heat and hot water in our homes, without which Net Zero by 2050 will be unattainable.

The HPF anticipates ever closer collaboration with MCS, as heat pump technology displaces polluting fossil fuels at an increasing rate, and as consumers look to the industry to ensure that they can embrace the clean heat transition with confidence.

It is imperative that we do as much as we can to encourage contractors who demonstrate working to the highest possible standard. The HPF and MCS both work tirelessly to ensure that certified contractors are supported, and we are looking forward to work more closely together to achieve our shared goals.

A new affiliate membership programme

The next big step in the collaboration between MCS and the HPF is the launch of our new affiliate membership offer. The programme aims to assist heat pump contractors to stay informed across the latest industry and political developments, as well as facilitating cross-sector collaboration between contractors and the supply chain.

MCS certified contractors across all heat pump technologies will be able to join the Heat Pump Federation with an affiliate level membership at no additional cost. As affiliates, they will receive:

  • A listing on the HPF website detailing company name, website URL and contact details;
  • Regular HPF member E-mission bulletins;
  • Invitations to technical webinars; and
  • Member advisories as and when they are published.

To learn more and start your free affiliate membership today, visit the HPF website.