The UK’s heat pump industry has just been handed one of its most significant shake-ups in years. Flexi-Orb, the alternative certification scheme developed by Certi-fi Schemes Ltd, has officially had its Heat Pump Scheme recognised as fit for the purpose of accredited conformity assessment by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), putting it on an equal accreditation footing with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) for heat pump installations.

For more than a decade, MCS has been the sole UKAS-accredited certification scheme recognised for government-backed renewable heating incentives. That monopoly is now over (at least in principle) with the arrival of a competitor that promises a fresh approach, greater installer support, and improved consumer outcomes.

A New Era of Choice

Flexi-Orb has been designed to address what many see as deep-rooted problems with the way heat pump certification has been handled under the existing system. For years, industry insiders and homeowners alike have voiced frustration over inconsistent quality, poor accountability, and a lack of meaningful performance benchmarks.

David Lindsay, Managing Director of Flexi-Orb, told Renewable Heating Hub: “We’re delighted to have secured UKAS Heat Pump Scheme recognition, which is the precursor to the formal UKAS ISO/IEC 17065:2012 assessment process, but this is just the start. Our mission has always been to put consumers first while making the compliance process fairer, clearer and more effective for installers. We’ve built Flexi-Orb with input from right across the industry, from manufacturers and installers to consumer advocates. This isn’t about lowering the bar; it’s about setting the bar in the right place and ensuring it’s achievable for those committed to quality. Now that we have UKAS recognition of the Heat Pump Scheme, we can move forward with the UKAS assessment process with real confidence.”

That industry collaboration has been key to shaping Flexi-Orb’s Heat Pump Code of Practice, which covers every stage from design and noise calculations to aftercare and performance monitoring.

Mark Nelson, Certification Director at Flexi-orb, who has been involved in the scheme’s development, believes the arrival of a second accredited scheme is vital for raising standards: “Certification shouldn’t be a tick-box exercise. It should be a living, breathing process that keeps installers sharp and protects consumers from poor workmanship. Flexi-Orb’s model brings real-world practicality into the standards, without losing sight of technical rigour. That combination is what the industry has been missing.”

Unlike the revised MCS process, which has stepped back from certain office-based assessments, Flexi-Orb insists on them. That means checks aren’t limited to what an inspector sees on-site, but also extend to the paperwork, permissions, and aftercare infrastructure behind each install.

The scheme also includes clear assessment checklists (something many installers have long called for) so everyone knows exactly what’s being measured and why.

Why This Matters to Homeowners

The introduction of Flexi-Orb as a UKAS-approved scheme could mean:

• Greater consumer choice: Homeowners will now be able to select installers certified under either scheme.
• Healthy competition: With two schemes in the market, both will need to continuously raise their game.
• Better accountability: Flexi-Orb’s feedback mechanisms and practical design focus could lead to fewer underperforming systems.

For a sector that has suffered from a stubbornly low average SCOP of around 2.7, when well-designed systems should regularly achieve 3.5+ – this could be the jolt the market needs.

Why This Is Big News

I’ve spent years hearing from UK homeowners on the Renewable Heating Hub forums, and I’ve lost count of the stories involving MCS-accredited installations that were poorly designed, badly executed and left consumers fighting through a bureaucratic maze to get anything fixed.

From systems that can’t heat a house in winter, to oversized buffer tanks destroying efficiency, to heat pumps short cycling themselves to death, these aren’t rare exceptions. They’re patterns. And the oversight structure has been failing to break those patterns.

That’s why Flexi-Orb’s UKAS approval is a huge deal. Not because it guarantees overnight change (it doesn’t) but because it finally breaks the monopoly that has allowed complacency to thrive.

However, there’s still a major hurdle: DESNZ.

Right now, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) and other government-backed funding streams still require MCS certification for eligibility. That means even with UKAS approval, Flexi-Orb-certified installers can’t access the same grants unless DESNZ updates its rules.

If MCS is allowed to remain the sole gateway to taxpayer-funded heat pump installations, then we’re back to the same problem, a monopoly, just dressed in new clothes. And given that MCS themselves have publicly stated they want that monopoly, the competition risk here is obvious.

In any other sector, if a private body moved to lock out competition in this way, government watchdogs would step in immediately on anti-competition grounds. The fact it hasn’t happened yet in heat pumps is baffling.

What Needs to Happen Next

• DESNZ must recognise Flexi-Orb (and any other UKAS-accredited scheme) for public funding eligibility.
• Clear performance benchmarks must be introduced, for example, a baseline SCOP that every funded installation must meet.
• Accountability must be enforced, with transparent routes for homeowners to get poor work corrected without months of finger-pointing between schemes, certification bodies and consumer codes.

If that happens, UK homeowners could finally see a market where quality is rewarded, where grant funding goes only to competent work and where poor installers can’t hide behind paperwork.

The arrival of Flexi-Orb as a fully accredited alternative is the first step in that direction. Whether it turns into real, lasting change will depend on whether DESNZ (and the wider industry) have the courage to embrace competition and put outcomes ahead of gatekeeping.