Do you need MCS certification to install solar roofing?

British households installed a record number of solar panels in the first half of 2023, with more than 17,000 new installations being recorded each month by the industry’s accreditation body, MCS.

An important reason for the huge uptake of solar roofing in the UK is the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) which ensures small-scale electricity generators (such as homeowners with solar panels) get paid for any energy they generate and export back into the National Grid.

The SEG helps make solar panels financially viable for many homeowners and replaces the Feed-in Tariff that was previously in place. However, to access the SEG, solar roofing systems have to be registered with the District Network Operator (DNO) and achieve MCS certification.

That certification has arguably created a backlog which has slowed down the installation of solar roofing in the UK – but now the energy company Octopus has made a move which could change that.  

Octopus, named “the company that has done the most to advance UK renewables” by the Renewable Energy Association, has changed its terms and conditions to state that an MCS certificate is not required to access the SEG through the company any longer. 

Clause 5.8 of the Octopus terms and conditions now states that installations can be self-declared as compliant by the installer or consumer, although it should be noted that they still have to be registered with the DNO and for the applicant to confirm that they are “satisfied the generation asset has been installed by a competent professional.”

In practice this means that access to Octopus’ SEG tariffs, which were already highly attractive, has been simplified and opened up to a much wider audience. It also means that installers can get on with installing solar PV without the time and money spent on MCS certification – so long as it is installed for Octopus. 

At the moment, Octopus is the only provider which has changed its terms in this way. However, it is reasonable to expect more providers to follow suit in the future for two reasons. Firstly, Octopus already provides the most consumer friendly SEG rate on the market and a further advantage would risk letting the company dominate this fast-growing market.

Secondly, all energy providers need to use people’s homes as small-scale virtual power plants in order to balance the grid at busy times. Solar roofing systems are a key part of this strategy and it has been argued that delays in MCS certification is making it harder to implement. If Octopus can show this change can be a success, other companies are likely to follow suit.

For consumers, this means that there has never been a better time to install a solar PV system like our in-roof solar panels. The benefits are bigger than ever and Octopus has removed one of the main barriers to entry.

Likewise for contractors and installers, this is the ideal time to train up and get into the solar roofing sector. MCS certification can take between six and nine months to achieve, but Octopus has smoothed that process and ensured that you can get going much quicker.