Start at Home: How Gas Engineers Can Get Into Heat Pumps Without the Risk
Plenty of installers have done their heat pump training but hesitate to take on a real job. Your first install being a paying customer’s house is a daunting prospect, especially if something were to go wrong.
The Start at Home scheme is built to solve exactly that. This guide covers what it is, how you can use it to get started, and why fitting one in your own home is the lowest-risk path into heat pumps.
Breaking the ice with your first install
Without somebody more experienced to help out, standing in a customer’s house doing your first heat pump, on the clock, is a tough job. You probably remember your first boiler install for the same reason.
The problem is you need real installs to build confidence, but you don’t necessarily want your learning curve to happen on a paying job.
That gap between the qualification and the confidence is where most engineers hesitate, and what the Start at Home scheme sets out to solve.
What is the Start at Home scheme?
Start at Home is run by Nesta and gives newly trained installers a fully-funded heat pump to fit in their own home. Your first install becomes your own place.
The whole idea is that there’s no customer breathing down your neck, no deadline, and you’ve got all the time you need if something needs tweaking.
The heat pumps themselves are funded through existing grants (like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in England and Home Energy Scotland) and are topped up by provider programmes. They do this through an MCS umbrella scheme, whereby they let you install the heat pump within their MCS framework, helping you on the way to your own MCS certification.
As part of the Start at Home scheme, they’ll help you handle the design, commissioning, MCS certificate, BUS grant claim, and supervise/support your work.
Some costs can still apply for bigger units, extra kit, or electrical work, so it’s not always completely free, but the bulk of it is covered.
Available Start at Home schemes
Start at home schemes are run across the country by the likes of myVAILLANT, HPIN+, Daikin, and more. You can see the full list of schemes on the Start at Home website.
Why starting at home takes the risk out
The obvious win is the low-stakes environment. But there’s more to it than just a safe practice run.
- You live with the system. Once it’s in, you’re using it every day. Running costs, controls, how it copes with a cold snap, how the hot water behaves. All of this is knowledge you can’t get from a classroom and is exactly what customers ask about before they commit.
- It becomes a sales tool. When a homeowner is debating upgrading, saying “I’ve got one in my own house” instantly builds trust and confidence. Installers who’ve gone through the scheme first say that it’s significantly boosted their credibility with customers.
- It speeds up your confidence and your certification. A completed install under your belt (and a system you understand inside out) means you walk onto that first paid job knowing what you’re doing.
How to get on the Start at Home scheme
- Get the training done first. You’ll need the heat pump qualifications before you can install. If you’re in England, the Heat Training Grant can cover a big chunk of the course cost.
- Sort your MCS route. You’ll need to be working towards MCS certification to install grant-backed heat pumps.
- Sign up for a scheme. You register your interest and get matched with a provider running a scheme in your area. The rollout covers England, Scotland and Wales. Sign up here.
Get your admin sorted before the work lands
Heat pump jobs create paperwork. MCS handover documents, commissioning records, grant claim evidence, and multi-day installs that need scheduling around your existing service and breakdown work.
If your admin is already a mess of WhatsApp messages and a diary on the van dashboard, adding a new, more complex job type will expose it fast. This is where job management software makes life easy and helps you keep everything in one place.