• central air conditioners
• heat pumps (air source and geothermal)
• boilers
• furnaces (oil and gas)
• room air conditioners
• clothes washers
• dishwashers
• refrigerators/freezers
• water heaters

How It Works:
The U.S. Government has given each State the authority to develop their own government appliance rebate program using the government’s guidelines. Individual states can decide the amounts of the appliance rebates up to $200 (reported) per selected appliance that is Energy Star qualified. Each state develops it’s own rebate program and may choose which appliances to include as long as it is on the list of approved Energy Star appliances that the U.S. Government listed. States will receive formula-based funding in order to start or continue an already established ENERGY STAR appliance rebate program.

When The Government Appliance Rebate Program Starts:
Each state had until October 15, 2009 to submit their appliance rebate program details to the U.S. Department of Energy for approval. The DOE said it will take several weeks to process all of the applications. Once the state’s government appliance rebate program applications are approved they can begin to launch the individual programs. The Appliance Rebate Program should be available for consumers by late 2009 or early 2010, depending on each state’s progress.

Why An Appliance Rebate Program?
Officially called the the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the stimulus bill is very simple. To paraphrase in layman terms the appliance rebate program has two basic objectives: (1)Save energy and reduce fossil fuel emissions while (2) stimulating the economy with a Stimulus Rebate Incentive Program. Consumer spending, while on the rise, should increase once the Government appliance rebate program goes into full effect. Like Obama’s Cash For Clunker Stimulus Program the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program (eearp) is a two-fold concept. While boosting the economy with an incentive program the Country benefits from a cleaner environment. First, with fewer early model cars on the road and now with more energy efficient appliances in operation. That’s the reasoning behind allowing only Energy Star qualified appliances into the program. ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy to help consumers and business save money while also protcting the environment by using energy efficient products.

Conclusion / Commentary:
Just like every other Government sponsored stimulus program, there will almost certainly be a lot of controversy surrounding the issue. The media has yet to decide it’s role in the push for guiding popular opinion, probably waiting to see if consumers actually save hundreds of dollars with the government sponsored rebates on appliances this fall. Radio talk show hosts will without a doubt seize this golden opportunity to lodge yet another dagger into the heart of Obama Administration. The bottom line? That depends of you. If you are anything like me, with a ten year old gas water heater on it’s last leg and energy bills out of control you can’t wait to take advantage of the appliance rebates. I only hope it amounts to huge savings and not just a big marketing boost for big business. If I can get a $200 rebate or tax incentive on a $900 hot water heater I’m going to be jumping up and down. Our dishwasher and stove are also out-dated but I didn’t see stoves on the list but I guess we’ll see. Personally, I would love to update my furnace but that’s a big ticket item in my world and a two hundred dollar appliance rebate will hardly afford me the opportunity to replace it. I guess I can’t, after all, ask for an entire home makeover from a single Government incentive program paid for with taxpayer money. Where is Ty Pennington when you need him?

• increase energy efficiency to reduce energy costs and consumption for consumers, businesses, and government;
• reduce reliance on imported energy;
• improve the reliability of electricity and fuel supply and the delivery of energy services; and
• reduce the impacts of energy production and use on the environment.

More specifically, activities carried out and results achieved with SEP ARRA funding will be assessed by performance metrics including but not limited to:

• Energy saved (kWh/therms/gallons/Btus/etc.)
• Renewable energy installed capacity and generated
• GHG emissions reduced (CO2 equivalent)
• Energy cost savings
• Funds leveraged

Status of Application

On May 14, 2009, NYSERDA submitted the Comprehensive Application for the State Energy Program to the U.S. Department of Energy. We received approval of our State Energy Program plan on July 2, 2009.

Reports

The State is required to report regularly on the activities carried out with SEP ARRA funding. On a quarterly basis, the State will be required to report on progress in terms of specific activities and amounts of funding obligated and expended. All reports associated with funded efforts will be posted by NYSERDA on its Web site as they become available.

The Appliance Rebate Program Objectives are:

• Save energy by encouraging appliance replacement through consumer rebates
• Make rebates available to consumers
• Enhance existing rebate programs by leveraging ENERGY STAR national partner relationships and local program infrastructure
• Keep administrative costs low while adhering to monitoring and evaluation requirements
• Promote state and national tracking and accountability
• Use existing ENERGY STAR consumer education and outreach materials

For more information, see the full solicitation.

The U.S. government’s stimulus package signed into law this year included $300 million to fund the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program.

Complete details of this new appliance rebate program have not been release yet but GovernmentApplianceRebates.com is poised at the ready to announce newly released details as they happen. Be sure to subscribe to our feed to stay up to date so you can take full advantage of this new savings.