Remember, before you head out to shop, use our free buyer's guides to the many appliances eligible for rebates, find the find out where to buy appliances, and see what other readers have to say about kitchen, laundry, and heating and cooling equipment in our appliances forums.
Florida adds recycling bonusFlorida's appliance clunkers program, which starts on April 16 to coincide with the week of Earth Day, will provide a $75 bonus to consumers who recycle their old appliances, according to this report from The Miami Herald. That's on top of 20 percent rebate on the pretax price of Energy Star-qualified refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, dishwashers, room air conditioners, and gas-powered tankless water heaters. Read our Q&A on appliance recycling for more details.
Illinois program targets water heaters
Illinois is granting a 25 percent rebate on Energy Star-qualified water heaters. During the first three weeks of the rebate program there, consumers got more than $500,000 in rebates, says the Chicago Sun-Times. The water-heater rebates will end a on February 28, but consumers will be able to get a 15 percent rebate for other qualifying appliances from April 16 to 25.
Indiana keying only on heating systems
Indiana is offering big rebates for two big-ticket items: $500 for conventional heating and cooling systems and $1,000 for geothermal heat pumps. State officials cited a few reasons for the limited rebate options, including a desire to help consumers offset the higher price of Energy Star-qualified HVAC equipment; the higher long-term savings and environmental benefits of retiring older HVAC systems provide over replacing smaller appliances; and the difficulty of recycling home appliances.
Sears appliance sales declined at end of '09
Fewer appliance and home-and-garden purchases drove down Sears' sales by 6.1 percent in the quarter months that wrapped up at the end of January, according to Bloomberg.com. But the retailer's appliance sales could be buoyed as more cash for appliances programs kick off nationwide.
Essential information: Visit our cash for clunkers for appliances hub to stay on top of the latest rebate news. Scroll down past this post to find other related stories.
In Connecticut the administrators of the rebate program are enforcing their rules so tightly that the rebates are not being made in many cases. Since the rebate program start date was delayed until January 25 (Monday, a workday) we were shopping at the local Lowe's for a new clothes washer on Saturday the 23rd, and were told that the rebates would be honored for sales made on that weekend, and that the rebate forms were already distributed to stores. We purchased a new GE Energy Star washer that day, on the assurance that the rebate would be honored, and were given the four-page rebate form. We jumped though all the hoops to fill out the forms (it took an hour to find some of technical data required on line) and submitted it. It was rejected because the sales date was the 23rd (the Saturday before the Monday). This sale was made completely in contemplation of the rebate, since our old washer was still serviceable. So now we are out an extra $100. From what I hear the rebate funds are not exactly flying out the door. If this is the way the rebate program is going to be administered, I am skeptical it will succeed, and will be just be another failed stimulus program, not because the idea was bad, but because the bureaucrats in charge killed it.
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