Cash for Appliances is the common term for the federally funded program whereby United States residents can get cash incentives for buying energy efficient appliances. Although the money for these incentives will come from federal government funding, each state will administer its own program.
Federal Government Funding for Appliance Rebate Stimulus 2010
As the states unveil their individual appliance rebate stimulus programs, it’s becoming clear that no two programs are exactly alike.
In addition to states having the latitude to set program terms within certain guidelines, every state was allocated a different amount by the United States Department of Energy. Which particular appliances are eligible and how much money is available per rebate will differ greatly from state to state.
State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Programs
In this article, learn several important distinctions among the various state government appliance rebate programs. Also, learn where to find state-specific guidelines on rebates for energy efficient appliances and find links to other articles on the topic.
Buying Energy Efficient Appliances – Government Appliance Rebate Rules
Using the federal government’s base requirements for energy efficient appliance rebate program guidelines, participating states and territories have crafted wildly different incentive program rules. Here are some distinctions among the different Cash for Appliance programs:
- Only some states require recycling of old appliances. However, in some states where recycling isn’t required, consumers may receive increased rebates for doing so.
- Some states have a short list of very specific products eligible for Energy Star® rebates while others allow rebates for a long list of energy efficient appliances.
- Program start dates range from December 2009 to late 2010.
- Some, but not all, states require participating Energy Star® retailers to pre-register.
- Several states allow residents to reserve Energy Star® rebates ahead of time.
- Many states place a time limit on appliance stimulus rebates, where customers have a limited number of days after purchase to place a claim.
- Some states offer increased rebates to customers who purchase appliances that far exceed basic Energy Star® requirements.
- Several states are creating separate program websites, but most will simply post information on the state energy office’s (or equivalent agency’s) website.
- Some states are giving out prepaid credit cards instead of rebate checks to partially reimburse consumers for buying energy efficient appliances.
Find State-Specific Cash for Appliances Details on EnergySavers.gov
On energysavers.gov, consumers will find a summary of each state or territory appliance rebate program and a link to state or territory energy department websites. This information is available in both map and list format. For some states, a PDF document summarizing the state or territory appliance rebate stimulus rules is available as well.
Government Stimulus Articles – 2010 Rebate for Appliances Background
The energysavers.gov link above should point consumers directly to the appropriate state or territory energy efficient appliance rebate program website. But for more general background information on government rebates for appliances, see the following articles:
Cash for Appliances – U.S. Government Rebates – The United States government has high hopes for appliance rebate stimulus incentives. Learn potential benefits of the Cash for Appliances program.
Cash for Refrigerators – U.S. Stimulus Program – Learn where funding for government rebates for appliances came from and how much is available in total.
United States Government Appliance Rebates – Learn which states got the most stimulus funding for appliance rebates.
Resource:
State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program Funding Opportunity Announcement retrieved from energy.gov (U.S. Department of Energy website) on August 25, 2009.
TAX101
Lena Gott - Lena Gott is a Certified Public Accountant who gives practical financial advice to her readers.
Comments