Bringing information, confidence and reassurance to anyone wishing to buy or lease a micro heat or power generation unit for their home, community or small business. The units can be fuelled from renewable or other sources.
Our members are firms selling or leasing renewable or other micro heat or power generation unit who abide by the REAL Assurance Scheme Consumer Code. This code is in the process of being approved by the Office of Fair Trading as part of its self-regulation initiative.
The Consumer Code and our set of Consumer Guidelines are designed to help you get advice on generation solutions without any negative marketing/sales tactics, and to ensure a strong consumer experience before, during and after a contract is agreed.
Use our site to find a REAL member in your area, or to check if your current supplier is a member.
Firms wishing to become members can download an application form here.
Micor Heat and Power Generation Units are small-scale devices which enable you to generate your own heat or power from renewable or non-renewable sources.
For example, these can include photovoltaic solar panels, small-scale wind and hydro powered generating units, heat pumps, solar water heating panels or combined heat and power units fuelled by gas or wood chips.
These units have the potential to reduce your energy bills, reduce the impact you have on the environment, and maybe even give you the ability to sell your electricity back to the grid. They also help reduce our dependence on large generating plants.
It is important that consumers have full information about the upfront costs, the running costs and the expected performance before they agree to buy or lease a micro heat or power generating unit. REAL members have agreed to provide this in an easy-to-understand format. Our Guidance for Consumers section has some useful information for anyone thinking about buying a generating unit for their home, community building or small business.
If you would like to know how to apply for a grant, you should consult the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. Through this programme, the Government provides grants for microgeneration technologies for householders, community organisations and small businesses, as well as for larger businesses and the public sector. The programme is run by the Energy Saving Trust on behalf of Government.
The Consumer Code links closely to the installer accreditation scheme and the product certification scheme. Both of these are run by the Buildings Research Establishment on behalf of Government, and form part of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. Any member of the REAL Assurance Scheme are expected also to comply with these schemes, or if they sub-contract the work, to ensure that those that carry out the work on their behalf comply with these schemes.