THOUSANDS of plumbers and heating and electrical engineers will be pouring into a Hatfield factory over the coming months.

The reason – to learn more about how to install the latest in green energy systems.

Welwyn Hatfield MP Grant Shapps, housing and local government minister, officially opened a new Renewable Energy Centre at Mitsubishi Electric’s offices in Travellers Lane.

The company is a leader in the manufacture of residential air source heat pump heating and photovoltaic power generating systems which can reduce a home’s heating and energy bills.

“At the moment, there are few homes in the Hatfield and Welwyn area that are benefiting from the lower fuel bills that these systems can offer,” said Martin Fahey, Mitsubishi Electric’s Green Gateway manager.

“As a major employer in the area, we wanted to show our MP how simple and reliable the technology is, and how homeowners, housing associations and landlords can have the confidence to make the switch from gas and oil.”

Mr Shapps was shown around the new centre, which will be used to train thousands of plumbing, heating and electrical engineers over the coming year.

Mr Fahey explained to the MP how the company was ensuring the highest standards of training to provide reliable power generation and home heating.

These high standards were also carried through to the company’s commercial heating and air conditioning products, he said.

The MP immediately issued a report on his visit on Twitter.

Mitsubishi Electric is fully committed to the Government’s Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) which sets out the high standards of installation and maintenance required for renewable technology.

Mitsubishi Electric’s Ecodan air source heat pump and its range of Photovoltaic (PV) power generating equipment are both MCS accredited.