Sunday, September 27, 2009

Stimulus Checks for Energy Efficient Appliances

energy efficient appliances
Green How To:
I guess they figured if the "cash for clunkers" helped consumers drive more fuel efficient vehicles, maybe it could put new energy efficient appliances into consumers households. So if you are sick of staring at that old energy wasting appliance, or maybe you were considering remodeling to a greener kitchen, now may be the perfect time to upgrade to a new energy efficient appliance. There will be a program starting this fall that will offer consumers cash to help buy new, Energy Star certified, home appliances.

The federal government has set aside about $300 million, part of the economic stimulus plan, for the program. Unlike the “cash for clunkers” program though, you do not need to trade in your old clunker appliance. These rebate checks issued can be used to cover everything from refrigerators and dishwashers to furnaces and air conditioners. The Department of Energy hopes to encourage conservation by getting people to replace old, wasteful appliances, with new, more efficient Energy Star certified machines. Surely, the appliance industry which has been hit hard by the recent recession, is hoping these energy efficient appliance rebates will give them a boost in sales.

Household refrigerators consume more energy than anything except heating and hot water. So if you are looking to save energy, the refrigerator would be #1 in my book, and Energy Star is no joke. An Energy Star refrigerator requires half as much energy as a 10 year old unit, that's enough energy to light an average household for over 3 months and save 300 pounds of pollution. As you can see, there is a significant difference in upgrading to an energy efficient appliance.

Consumers should check with their state's energy department for details on when the appliance rebates will be available. Links to information about stimulus projects by state can be found on the Energy Department's Recovery Act website.

3 comments:

  1. I think this is a wonderful way to save electricity. Is there a way to recycle the old appliances? I would hate to see them sitting in a landfill somewhere.

    Great blog.

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  2. I really hope this works as well as the cash for clunkers. Hopefully consumers will see the immediate value in this program.

    Meno (ehow)

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  3. I really hope this works not like that other program. It's a great idea!

    ReplyDelete