How-to Guide
Who is my DNO, and do you actually need to know?
Your DNO is whoever owns the network at the property, not the energy supplier. How to look it up, and when you don't have to.
Jamie Duncan
6 October 2026
UK Market
32 articles tagged with UK Market
Blog
G99 Fast Track: the quicker DNO connection route
The G99 Fast Track process connects small generation and storage installations in around 10 working days instead of a full G99 assessment. The three SGI categories, the forms, and the details that keep an application moving.
Jamie Duncan
5 October 2026
How-to Guide
MCS audit checklist: what the assessment looks for under the redeveloped scheme
MCS assessments now place more emphasis on delivered quality while still requiring evidence of processes and controls. What to have ready before your certification body calls.
Jamie Duncan
14 September 2026
How-to Guide
DNO 'further information required': what happens next
'Further information required' is not a rejection. What the status means, where the DNO actually contacts you, and what it does to the 45-working-day clock.
Jamie Duncan
7 September 2026
How-to Guide
Warm Homes installer certification: which route your business actually needs
Warm Homes work runs on two separate certification regimes, and which one applies depends on the measure you install, not the scheme you are bidding into. Here is how the split works.
Jamie Duncan
4 September 2026
Blog
G98 vs G99: what decides which one you need
G98 and G99 are decided by one number: 16A per phase, measured across everything installed at the property, not per device. The comparison table, the G99 Fast Track route that sits between the two, and the design-capacity rule most guides get wrong.
Jamie Duncan
31 August 2026
How-to Guide
DNO works required: what the status means and what to do while you wait
Payaca now shows the DNO's own reasons on a 'works required' connection application, so installers know whether they're waiting on paperwork or a network upgrade.
Jamie Duncan
24 August 2026
Blog
Field service management software for UK clean tech installers: what to actually look for
A buyer's guide to field service management software for UK solar, heat pump and battery installers, and why the generic trades platforms stop short of MCS and DNO work.
Ben Clarke
18 August 2026
Blog
Solar installer cash flow: why profitable firms still run out of money
The cash flow maths of a UK solar install business - deposit caps, RECC advance payment rules, supplier terms and the gap between commissioning and final payment. A worked example showing how the same 20% margin job can tie up 拢4,525 or 拢250.
Jamie Duncan
12 August 2026
How-to Guide
The install workflow that runs itself: from customer signature to assigned tasks
Payaca automations now fire the moment a document is signed, and task templates carry a default assignee and deadline. How UK installers chain signatures, stage moves and pre-assigned tasks into one workflow.
Jamie Duncan
28 July 2026
How-to Guide
Export limitation: the G100 route that gets a bigger job connected on a constrained grid
When a full-export G99 connection would be refused or need reinforcement, an export limitation scheme (ENA EREC G100) keeps the job alive. Here is how it works and how to track it across a busy install schedule.
Jamie Duncan
24 July 2026
How-to Guide
The DNO replied and nobody noticed: automating the middle of the job
Payaca automations now fire on DNO application status changes and on every change proposal event, not just acceptance. How UK installers wire up the two mid-job waits that stall installs: grid applications and scope changes.
Jamie Duncan
20 July 2026
How-to Guide
Heat pump permitted development in 2026: the noise assessment that decides the job
England relaxed permitted development for air source heat pumps, but the right hinges on an MCS 020 noise assessment under 42 dB(A). A practical guide for UK installers on what changed and where jobs slip into a full planning application.
Jamie Duncan
18 July 2026
Blog
The Clean Flexibility Roadmap update: what it changes for solar and battery installers
July's Clean Flexibility Roadmap update sets dates that will reach installers' quotes: minimum standards for smart batteries later in 2026, a Smart Readiness EPC metric in 2027, and a landlord deadline in 2030. What to do about each.
Matt Franklin
14 July 2026
Blog
The redeveloped MCS scheme: what changes before your certification body calls
MCS is moving every certified installer onto its redeveloped scheme through 2026. The three business roles you must assign, the risk-based assessment model, and what to have ready before your certification body starts your transition.
Jamie Duncan
6 July 2026
Blog
Solar PV commissioning under MCS: from survey to sign-off
What an MCS-certified solar installer has to produce by commissioning sign-off - MIS 3002 evidence, IEC 62446 tests, the EIC, DNO notification, MID registration within 10 working days, and a handover pack that unlocks the customer's SEG application.
Jamie Duncan
2 July 2026
Blog
G99 applications: when you need one, and how to get it approved first time
A G99 application covers any system above the G98 threshold and has to be approved before you install. What triggers one, how long approval takes on each network, and the errors that send it back.
Jamie Duncan
29 June 2026
Blog
Heat pump installer income guide 2026: what MCS-certified businesses actually earn
Real income numbers for MCS-certified heat pump installer businesses in 2026. Day rates, annual turnover, BUS grant impact, and what a 5-person team can realistically earn.
Ben Clarke
29 June 2026
Blog
Solar installer economics: where the margin actually goes
A practical breakdown of where UK solar installer margin is won and lost - from survey to DNO energisation. Covers the real cost of quoting, MCS and DNO admin, on-site overruns, and how growing installers protect 20% margins as volume scales.
Jamie Duncan
15 June 2026
Blog
Why in-house and bespoke CRMs don't survive growth (UK installer playbook)
Mid-sized UK installers spend two engineers a year maintaining a bespoke CRM that handles maybe 60% of the workflow. The other 40% is on spreadsheets. Here's what's actually being paid for, and why the build never catches up to MCS, DNO and BUS V5.
Matt Franklin
27 May 2026
How-to Guide
Migrating from HubSpot to Payaca: what actually moves (UK installer guide)
Decision-stage migration guide for UK clean-energy installers leaving HubSpot. What imports cleanly, what doesn't, what HubSpot stays good at, and how to sequence a 4-week cutover without losing project history.
Matt Franklin
25 May 2026
Blog
Pipedrive vs Payaca for clean energy installers: where Pipedrive stops, where Payaca picks up
Pipedrive works well for the sales pipeline but stops at the deal-closed line. For UK solar, heat pump and battery installers, that's where the real work begins. A side-by-side workflow walkthrough: lead, quote, DNO, MCS, BUS, install, handover.
Jamie Duncan
22 May 2026
Blog
Sweden's air-to-air playbook: what UK installers can borrow as BUS V5 opens the 拢2,500 grant
BUS V5 added a 拢2,500 grant for air-to-air heat pumps on 28 April 2026 - the first time UK policy has recognised the technology Sweden built a market around. The operations playbook for air-to-air installs is genuinely different from air-to-water. Here's what UK installers should borrow.
Jamie Duncan
15 May 2026
Blog
The Warm Homes Plan is delivery-constrained, not money-constrained
The 拢15bn is real. The 5-million-homes target is real. What's missing is the engineers. For UK heat pump installers, the next four years are an installer-capacity market - and the operations playbook that wins it is different from the one that won 2024.
Jamie Duncan
14 May 2026
Blog
BUS V5 and the upfront discount: what changed on 28 April 2026
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme moved to V5 on 28 April 2026. The voucher mechanism is unchanged - what's new is the mandatory upfront discount on the customer's quote and invoice. Here's how that changes installer cash flow, T&Cs, and template configuration.
Jamie Duncan
11 May 2026
Blog
MIS 3005-D vs MIS 3005-I: who designs, who installs, who signs
MIS 3005 split into two documents on 1 April 2022 - one for design, one for installation. Most growing UK heat pump installers still treat them as one workflow, and that's where the data leaks. A practical guide to the design-to-install handoff for scaling installers.
Jamie Duncan
11 May 2026
Blog
Heat pump commissioning under BUS V5: a 2026 compliance playbook
Commissioning is where heat pump jobs get signed off - and where margin and customer satisfaction most often leak. A practical playbook for growing UK installers on MIS 3005, the MCS Installation Database, BUS V5 voucher applications and redemption, and clean handover.
Jamie Duncan
28 April 2026
Blog
Heat pump installer economics: what actually drives margin
A practical breakdown of where heat pump installer margin is won and lost - from survey to commissioning. Covers the real cost of quoting, MCS admin, on-site overruns, and how growing installers protect 20%+ margins as volume scales.
Jamie Duncan
22 April 2026
Blog
The Warm Homes Plan: what growing installers need to know
The UK government's 拢15 billion Warm Homes Plan is the biggest home upgrade programme in British history. This is the operational guide for growing installation businesses - what it means for your pipeline, accreditations, and operations through 2030.
Jamie Duncan
16 March 2026
Blog
Should you become a heat pump installer?
Heat pump installations in the UK grew 27% in 2025, and the government is targeting 450,000 a year by 2030. Here's what it takes to get certified, what you can earn, and whether now is the right time to make the move.
Jamie Duncan
9 March 2026
Blog
The Guild of Master Heat Engineers - why it matters for growing heat pump businesses
A new peer-driven recognition model is emerging for UK heat pump installers. Here's what the Guild of Master Heat Engineers is, why the industry needs it, and what it signals about where quality standards are headed.
Matt Franklin
4 March 2026
Blog
The ECO scheme is ending. Here's how to build a business that sells direct
Selling funded measures to eligible households is a different discipline from selling to homeowners spending their own money. With ECO ending in 2026, Jamie Duncan explains what needs to change and why the able-to-pay market is a bigger opportunity than the scheme ever was.
Jamie Duncan
27 February 2026