Posted on 08/24/2009 8:14:53 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Will this fall's federal rebate do for home appliances and heating and cooling systems what the Car Allowance Rebate System—aka cash for clunkers—has done for cars and trucks? The appliance industry certainly hopes so: Sales of dishwashers, refrigerators, and washing machines—the three appliances covered by the appliance-rebate program—have been off by some 25 percent from their peak during the last housing boom.
As a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Obama administration is encouraging the purchase of energy-efficient appliances through a $300 million appliance-rebate program that will soon dole out amounts that could reach $200 per appliance if you buy Energy Star-qualified models. Appliances that qualify for Energy Star use roughly 10 to 25 percent less energy than the maximum allowed for that category by the U.S. Department of Energy, which runs Energy Star with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (Watch the video here on our latest tests of water- and energy-efficient dishwashers at right.)
Unlike cash for clunkers, you won't have to turn in your old appliance to get a rebate. But states are expected to have recycling plans for the flood of old appliances the program could unleash. And while the money is coming from Washington, how much you get for which appliance will be a state-by-state decision.
State energy offices must detail the amount of the rebates for each appliance category and their plan for recycling old appliances by October 15. The money will be divided via a formula in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that is largely based on state population. For example, California, with a population of nearly 37 million, will receive just over $35 million, while Alaska's 686,000 inhabitants will get $658,477.
Combining the soon-to-be enhanced state incentives with those from federal government and local utilities can yield significant savings. We've detailed how you can combine these specific incentives on appliances, solar-, wind-, and geothermal-energy technologies, and air-conditioning systems.
You can save even more with these recently published appliance-buying tips from more than 25,000 Consumer Reports subscribers. We've also got ratings (available to subscribers) of 16 major appliance retailers and a wide range of appliances.
-PJ
My first GE washer lasted 36 years. My replacement GE washer lasted just 3 years. No more GE for me.
I just got a new dishwasher and the first criterion when I started shopping was ‘nothing made by GE.’
25’ Airstream camp trailers would be nice. ;>)
Does anyone know what exactly this covers? I’d love to buy another freezer and wondered if that might be eligible?
Call your local Sears or other appliance store, I’m betting they would know or can find out.
Cash for cash.
Turn in your devalued $100 bill for a crisp new $1 bill which has the same purchasing power. South America has a history of this.
I also have their old coldspot freezer which is about 1958 vintage. It also still runs and is full of frozen fruit from my trees.
Where do you think the "rebate" is going to come from? It's going to come from my tax dollars from my hard work.
I am highly offended by the notion of you wanting to steal from my hard work. Why don't you go put extra work in yourself instead of stealing our tax dollars?
See what else is in there
http://www.propublica.org/ion/stimulus/item/while-were-at-it-your-fridge-is-also-a-piece-of-junk-823
I'm thinking the same thing... But I'm NOT going to be buying anything made by GE!
Mark
First of all since I am a taxpaying citizen I would not be stealing from you but recieving some of what I paid in back.Perhaps you could take a deep breathe before posting, it might save you from making an @** out of yourself!
LOL! Yep they just don’t built them like that anymore! I still am using the fridge we bought in 1984 and it has never ever been serviced a single time. At this point I just try not to jinx it by mentioning it’s age and bless it everyday. :)
Justify your stealing all you want - your government will tuck you in bed and night and give you warm milk.
Please don’t ever address me ever again!
Yup. I bought a new refrig and it is s Whirlpool. WP is a stand alone American company. I was not buying GE or any of their other brands like Roper. I was not buying Korean like LG or Samsung. If I could not buy American, I would buy German, Dutch or maybe a European brand. No Chinese crap either.
A program which insists upon the destruction of a less-than-optimally-efficient device will itself be inefficient if, had the device not been destroyed, it could have replaced a less efficient one. This is true no matter how the “efficiency” of the device is measured. Considering that government “efficiency” measurements often don’t really measure the desirability of a device (is a machine that uses less water but cleans less effectively more “efficient”?), it should be clear that programs to trash old equipment are at best ill-advised.
We bought a new Whirlpool duet frontloader washer 3 years ago and I am thrilled with it. Not a single problem ever other than operator error. It has a lock out feature on it so kids can’t mess with it and I managed to lock myself out. :o Good think I keep my manuals! LOL My DSis on the other hand bought a LG about 5 months before I bought mine and it’s broke down several times. Granted she has kids but still a 3 year old washer should not be having problems!
I know someone who has a fancy LG refrig and it had problems. Getting parts was hard and finding someone who services them is not easy.
I will stick with Whirlpool and will never buy GE.
Yes here the same for LG. She had to wait 3 weeks for the service guy and another 2 weeks to order parts. She was without a washer for 5 weeks total and that is not nice with 3 teenagers in the house.
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