MCS Certified Installers – SolarTherm UK

Choosing an MCS Certified installer is one of the most important steps when investing in solar panels. MCS certification ensures your installer meets strict standards for safety, workmanship, product quality, and consumer protection.

At SolarTherm UK, we have maintained our MCS Certification since 2010, delivering thousands of compliant solar installations for homeowners and businesses across the UK.

MCS Certification for Solar Panel Installers

When homeowners first begin researching solar panels and installers, one of the first things they’re told is to choose an MCS Certified installer. But what does this actually mean, and why is it so important?

On this page, we explain who MCS are, what MCS certification involves, and why choosing an MCS Certified Solar PV installer is essential when investing in solar panels and battery storage for your home or business.

Who are MCS?

MCS stands for the Microgeneration Certification Scheme — an organisation that develops and maintains quality standards for products, installers, and workmanship across the renewable energy and low-carbon industry.

In simple terms, MCS sets the standards for how technologies such as Solar PV panels and battery storage systems should be designed, installed, and maintained, while ensuring installers meet strict levels of technical competence, safety, and customer care.

By choosing an MCS Certified installer, customers can have confidence that their installation has been completed to recognised industry standards using approved products and best practices.

To give people confidence in low-carbon energy technology by defining, maintaining and improving quality.
MCS Mission Statement

What Does It Take to Become an MCS Certified Solar Panel Installer?

To become an MCS Certified Solar Panel Installer, a company must demonstrate full compliance with strict industry standards designed to ensure quality, safety, technical competence, and consumer protection.

The certification process involves a detailed assessment against both the overarching MCS standards for contractors and the specific standards relating to Solar PV installations.

Installers must prove that their team is competent in every aspect of solar installation, including system design, electrical safety, workmanship, and regulatory compliance. Companies are also required to appoint a Nominated Technical Person (NTP) responsible for overseeing technical standards within the business, alongside implementing a robust Quality Management System (QMS).

A key part of MCS certification is a commitment to customer care and consumer protection. To achieve certification, installers must belong to a consumer protection scheme recognised by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI). The approved schemes are:

As part of the assessment process, the installer must submit completed installations for independent inspection by a certification body. These inspections assess not only the quality and safety of the installation itself, but also areas such as documentation, contracts, internal procedures, customer processes, and overall compliance with MCS standards.

Maintaining MCS certification is an ongoing commitment, requiring regular audits, inspections, and continual adherence to industry best practices.

At SolarTherm UK, our original assessment and MCS Certification was in July 2010, and we have been committed to maintaining this quality ever since!

Why is MCS Certification Important for Customers?

Choosing an MCS Certified solar panel installer gives customers confidence that the company carrying out their installation is reputable, technically competent, and working to recognised industry standards for quality and safety.

For many homeowners and businesses, investing in solar panels and battery storage is a major financial decision. Using an MCS Certified installer provides an additional layer of protection, ensuring both the installation process and the products used have been independently assessed against strict industry requirements.

MCS certification is widely recognised as a mark of quality within the renewable energy sector. Certified installers are regularly audited and assessed to ensure they continue to meet high standards of workmanship, safety, customer care, and technical expertise.

Another important benefit is that MCS Certified installers can only install MCS Approved products. This means the solar panels, inverters, and battery storage systems used within your installation have all been tested for safety, reliability, and performance against recognised MCS standards.

Once your solar panel system has been installed by an MCS Certified company, you will receive an official MCS Certificate for the installation. This document is particularly important because most energy suppliers require a valid MCS Certificate before you can register for a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff and receive payments for exporting excess electricity back to the grid.

As MCS Certified installers, you can have complete confidence that every stage of your solar panel installation — from the initial system design through to final commissioning — will be completed to the highest standards of quality, safety, and performance.

At SolarTherm UK, our MCS Certification is far more than just a badge. It represents over 15 years of commitment to technical excellence, quality workmanship, consumer protection, and outstanding customer care across thousands of solar installations throughout the UK.