RECC explained: the code that governs the sale, not just the install

What RECC is

RECC is the Renewable Energy Consumer Code. It is sponsored by the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology, known as the REA, and administered by its subsidiary Renewable Energy Assurance Ltd, known as REAL. It is approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute under the Consumer Codes Approval Scheme.

The scope is deliberately wide. The code sets standards for marketing, pre-contractual information, quotations, deposits, contracts, guarantees and after sales service for domestic consumers buying small scale heat and power generators and related products, including battery storage. It also covers leasing arrangements and models where an incentive payment is assigned to a third party. Members give a legal undertaking to comply.

How RECC and MCS interlock

The code is designed to dovetail with MCS certification rather than duplicate it. Any code member contracting to sell and install an energy generator must be certified to the relevant MCS Installer Standards for that technology. Members who fail to achieve MCS certification within 3 months of joining can have their membership terminated.

That matters when you are checking a company out. A current RECC membership implies MCS certification for the technologies it sells and installs, or a very new member still inside the 3 month window. It is a useful cross check, not a substitute for looking up the certification directly.

Deposit protection under RECC

All RECC members must insure any deposits and advance stage payments they take. Unlike a single scheme wide policy, the protection here is provided through a range of insurers, and the duration of cover varies depending on which one your installation team uses. Advance payments over 25 percent of contract value may be insured.

Source: RECC guidance on deposit and workmanship warranty protection, accessed August 2026. Always read the policy issued to you.

The spread there is the point. A 35 day window and a 120 day window are very different things when a solar installation is booked six weeks out and then slips. Ask which insurer backs the deposit, and check the duration against your expected installation date rather than the date you sign.

Workmanship warranty protection

The second hard protection is the insurance backed guarantee that sits behind the installation team's workmanship warranty. Through RECC member insurers, these run from 1 to 12 years depending on the provider. Ark offers up to 12 years. CPA, HIP, IWA, QANW and Qualitymark typically offer 2, 5 and 10 year products. Peacock covers 10 to 12 years.

One clause is worth committing to memory: defects typically must be reported within 30 days of discovery. Sitting on a problem for a season while you decide whether it is worth the argument can void the claim. What an insurance backed guarantee covers, and the four things it does not, are set out in our guide to IBGs.

Your cancellation rights sit above the code

RECC members operate inside consumer law rather than instead of it. Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 you can cancel within 14 days. Where the contract was signed with a representative in your home, the right runs to 14 days from delivery of the goods.

There is a catch that catches people every year. If you want the installation to happen inside the cooling off period, the installation team needs your express written request to start early. Give that, and you change your cancellation position. If a salesperson is pressing for a start date inside the 14 days, ask what it does to your right to cancel before you sign anything.

Where RECC stands after the 2026 MCS changes

Historically, RECC and HIES were the two consumer codes that MCS certified installers joined, and membership of one of them was a condition of MCS certification. Under the redeveloped MCS installer scheme, that requirement has gone. Consumer code membership is no longer mandatory; what is mandatory is an MCS approved Financial Protection Product.

That does not make code membership worthless. It makes it a signal rather than a given. A firm that keeps a CTSI approved code membership when it no longer has to is telling you something about how it wants to be held to account on marketing and after sales, which is the ground the financial protection product does not cover.

What to actually ask

• Which consumer code, if any, is the company a member of, and can you see the membership number?
• Which insurer backs the deposit, and for how many days from contract signature?
• How long is the workmanship guarantee, and which insurance backed guarantee product sits behind it?
• Is the company MCS certified for every technology on this quotation, not just for solar?
• What is the reporting window for defects under the guarantee?

Clearline gives independent guidance and never installs. Installations are carried out by an MCS-certified installation team for your area, and the protections above are the ones we would want on our own paperwork. For the system side of the decision, see solar panels and heat pumps, or run the numbers on the calculator on your local county page.

RECC scheme detail was checked against recc.org.uk in August 2026. Insurer panels and cover durations change; confirm against the policy documents you are issued.