News: Analysis
It’s ‘oil change’ for OFTEC
OFTEC director general Jeremy Hawksley tells REI about its new renewable
registration scheme and why the maxim OFTEC = oil no longer holds true in a
diverse energy era
Q: Can you outline OFTEC’s renewable registration offering?
OFTEC is keen to support our existing registered technicians to move into renewables and we
also want to attract renewable installers who are not OFTEC registered to join us. Our aim is
to offer a complete off-gas service so, in 2014, we launched registration and MCS certification
in heat pumps and solar thermal to complement our existing oil and Part P competent person
registration scheme and our Green Deal installer scheme. We will add biomass by mid 2015.
OFTEC’s experience as a competent person scheme provider means installers can be
assured of receiving a first class service at a very competitive price. We also offer free technical
support and a range of other benefits. The key benefit of registration is that it allows installers to
self-certify their work for building regulations in England and Wales, so you only need to do a few
installations each year for registration to pay for itself.
Q: How strong has uptake been since launch?
Our 2013 technician survey showed there was demand for the scheme and so far it has been very
well received. We anticipate that renewable registration numbers will grow steadily in the next
few years, reflecting the gradual diversification of the heating market. However, with the price of
oil remaining very competitive, we don’t anticipate a huge shift overnight.
Q: Why has OFTEC chosen now to branch out into renewables and this time in
particular?
The domestic RHI is sure to act as a catalyst for growth in the renewables market, so the timing
seemed right. Forward thinking installation businesses are always looking to improve their
services and, for many, adding renewables makes a lot of sense. We don’t see it as an ‘either
or’ choice and, for many businesses, traditional and renewable heating technologies can be
complementary. The idea that OFTEC = oil has now changed and we hope our registration will
appeal to a wide range of businesses, including installers who are solely engaged in renewables.
Open arms: OFTEC director general Jeremy
Hawksley encourages installers both registered
and non-registered as OFTEC technicians to
consider membership of its new renewable
scheme
Q: What benefits does OFTEC registration offer to installers compared to rival
schemes?
Our aim is to offer the most complete registration service and to compete very strongly on price and quality. We have a lot of experience and really
understand what installers want. We already have a strong installer base on our books and hope that we will be a one-stop registration solution for
many rural heating installers.
Q: Is this scheme only offered to OFTEC registered oil technicians?
Anyone can apply. Because we compete so strongly on price we think our registration service will appeal to all renewable installation businesses.
At its heart, OFTEC’s registration scheme has always been about providing excellent service for consumers so, as long as you can meet the
industry-recognised standards required for our scheme, we would be very pleased to hear from you.
Q: Why has the introduction of biomass been staggered?
It would have been nice to be able to offer a complete range of registration services from day one. However, in reality it takes time to get the
necessary approvals from government in place. It has also taken time to build up the in-house expertise we need to offer the kind of service we
pride ourselves on.
We chose to start with heat pumps and solar thermal because they naturally complement oil heating. Biomass is seen as a renewable
alternative to oil and LPG by many people, so it makes sense for us to offer that next.
6 | www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk