Dollars for dishwashers
By Lynn Teuscher of Aiello-Goodrich-Teuscher
A few months ago, the federal government had a program called “Cash for Clunkers,” which gave rebates to the auto dealers for sales of energy efficient vehicles purchased by the consumers. Coming soon to consumers in late 2009 or early 2010 will be a federally-funded program run by each individual state to give rebates on purchases of “Energy Star” appliances; sort of a “Cash for Clunker Appliances” program. The rebates will commonly range from $50 to $250 depending on the product being purchased.
The “Stimulus Bill” (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) provided $300 million to states for consumer rebates on the following ENERGY STAR qualified appliances:
- Central air conditioners
- Heat pumps (air source and geothermal)
- Boilers
- Furnaces (oil and gas)
- Room air conditioners
- Clothes washers
- Dishwashers
- Refrigerators/freezers
- Water heaters
This appliance stimulus rebate is different than the recent “Cash for Clunker” vehicle program in that the federal government is not doing the paperwork for each consumer transaction, instead they have asked the individual states to run the program, and the federal government will fund it. Each state has been given the authority to decide which appliances and what level of efficiency of that category of appliances will be eligible for rebates. The states were required to submit their plans to the Federal Department of Energy by October 15, 2009 for review. The manufacturers of appliances are concerned that it will be very difficult for them to have their products ready for 50 different state strategies in the upcoming months.
Dollars for dishwashers and other appliances are coming soon, so keep in contact with your appliance dealer for further details.
