Cash for appliances

November 8, 10:10 PMNews You Can Use ExaminerMary Schwager

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Want a new fridge?  Air conditioner or furnace? You may want to wait until later this fall when the federal government rolls out "Cash for Appliances".  

It's modeled after the "Cash for Clunkers" car trade-in program which some hailed a sweeping success, and others remember as a nightmare of red tape, uncertain funding and bureaucracy.

So far Congress dolled out 300 million to fund this discounts for dishwashers type deal. The goal of this economic stimulus project is to boost slumping appliance sales and help the environment, by kicking old, energy sucking appliances to the curb.

Here's the details so far:

• The exact start date will be announced soon.
• You don't have to lug in, or even trade-in your old appliance.
• Just purchase a new fridge, dishwasher, washer, dryer or furnace that has an ENERGY STAR label and you could get back between $50 to $200. 
• The actual amount of the rebate will be set and issued by your state's department of energy.

Every state must submit a plan that specifies which appliances will be included in its program, the amount of rebates for each appliance, and a plan for recycling old ones. The Feds estimate state's should get their share of the 300m in late 2008 or early 2009. Check your state energy department’s website for updates. Click here for more info from the federal government. 

If you decide to participate, act quickly. The money went fast and furious in the Cash for Clunkers program and it ran out of gas.

And before you click off your computer, remember this happy fact: ENERGYSTAR.GOV says the typical household spends more than $2,200 a year on energy bills, but could save over one-third or about $700 per year by using ENERGY STAR products.