Appliance Discounts, for the Swift Whether it is newfound green consciousness ahead of Earth Day — or just the allure of a big discount on a new washing machine or air-conditioner — consumers across the country are snapping up government rebates for energy-efficient appliances. In Florida, which began offering the rebates Friday, the $17.6 million allocated for the program lasted a day and half, as more than 72,000 claims were filed. In Illinois, the second half of its $12.4 million, made available on Friday, disappeared in 11 hours. In Missouri, which started doling out $5.67 million in rebates on Monday and was also waiving related sales taxes, applications were not so brisk. As of late afternoon, 4,748 rebates worth $407,350 had been reserved, or roughly 7 percent of the state’s rebate money, said Judd Slivka, a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. “We’re fairly comfortable saying there will be a Day 2,” he said. Nationwide, $300 million in rebate money has been allocated by the federal government to 56 states and territories to encourage residents to buy furnaces, clothes washers, refrigerators and other appliances with the government’s Energy Star label. Typically, rebates run about $75 for a clothes washer and several hundred dollars for home heating and cooling systems. Colorado, which began its rebate program Monday, is offering $15,000 back for installing a commercial solar thermal system. But in an experience reminiscent of last year’s popular “cash for clunkers” program, which paid consumers to trade in gas-guzzling automobiles, interest in the appliance programs has been so been intense that the state programs are often running dry in a matter of days. Article prepared for The New York Times. Click here to view the article in its entirety or visit The New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/business/energy-environment/20rebate.html?pagewanted=1 |
