This week Sainsbury's became the only supermarket to sell solar panels, insulation, heat pumps and other renewable energy products in its stores.

The supermarket giant's new Home Energy Centres (HECs) will open at three stores this week, in partnership with EDF energy. The stores in Camberley, Kidderminster and Leicester, will act as showrooms that support a national sales line through which customers across the country can order heating solutions which will be delivered to their home and installed by EDF Energy's qualified installers.

The HECs will enable customers to sign up to a new gas or electricity tariff or apply for grant funding for the renewable energy products in the store.

Adam Zeiderman, Sainsbury's commercial manager, said: "There are lots of people who want to invest in renewable energy products but they don't know how or where to start. We use some of these products in many of our stores, and now we're making it easier for people to use them in their own homes."

Products available in Sainsbury's Home Energy Centres include:

Solar PV rooftop panels,
Solar Thermal - a water heating system.
Air Source Heat Pumps.
Loft and / or Cavity Wall Insulation
Recycled Plastic Bottle DIY Insulation - made from 90% recycled polyester bottles. Suitable for topping up existing insulation
Mineral Wool Loft DIY Insulation
Sheep Wool Loft DIY Insulation
Sainsbury's Energy fuel tariffs - Providing competitively priced gas and electricity tariffs

EDF Energy advisors will be offering advice to customers.

Phillip Sellwood, chief executive at the Energy Savings Trust (EST) said: "Householders installing microgeneration technologies should only consider installing products certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). Sainsbury's solar panels are MCS Certified".

Sainsbury's Home Energy Centres open for business in the stores this week but the products are also available nationwide by calling 0800 051 1649.