Delaware appliance rebate program saves money and energy
Delawareans interested in energizing their savings on their energy bills now have a new incentive to upgrade their older, energy-sapping appliances for new, high-efficiency models.
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What gets a rebate?
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The rebates offered through the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility’s Energize Delaware appliance-rebate program include the following:
• Refrigerators – $100 for qualified Energy Star models; the $100 rebate is designed to help customers make a selection that combines their preferred style with Energy Star qualifications • Freezers – $50 for qualified Energy Star models; the rebate is designed to help customers realize they can find their choice in a high-efficiency model • Clothes washers – $75 for qualified front-load, Energy Star models; the savings on Energy Star front-load washers is the highest of all the typical household appliances due to the energy savings of the unit and the hot-water heater as well as the water usage • Clothes washers – $50 for qualified top-load, Energy Star models; these washers are nearly as efficient as front-load washers • Dehumidifiers – $25 for qualified Energy Star models; these dehumidifiers save energy, and by buying the right size model for the home can help reduce heating and cooling costs by taking high moisture content out of the air |
The Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility’s Energize Delaware initiative is providing mail-in rebates ranging from $25 to $100 for Energy Star-qualified refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers and dehumidifiers.
The Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility’s (SEU’s) Energize Delaware appliance rebate is the first of many programs to help Delawareans save money, create new jobs and protect the environment.
The Delaware SEU is a nonprofit, one-stop resource to help residents and businesses save money by conserving energy and tapping clean energy sources like solar, geothermal and wind.
Old appliances are some of the biggest energy users in homes, and replacing the old with more efficient models can save customers hundreds of dollars a year on their energy bills. If every household in Delaware had a 2009 Energy Star-qualified refrigerator instead of a standard model, the lifetime savings in the state would be more than $49 million. The kilowatts saved would be enough to supply electricity to nearly 250,000 homes in Delaware for a year.
To date nearly 300 rebates have been filed, and the estimated state savings per year with those updated appliances in place is 20,000 kilowatt hours and $2,800. This will grow as more people take advantage of the rebates.
Additional appliances will be eligible for the rebate program early next year. The SEU is also looking into a recycling program to ensure inefficient models are pulled out of service. Currently Delawareans won’t need to turn in their old appliances to benefit from the program.
Stores will continue to sign up for the program throughout the month of September. Upon making their qualifying purchase, consumers will fill out a rebate form and send the completed form, along with the printed sales receipt, to the address on the form.
Once the application has been submitted and approved, consumers should expect a debit card with their rebate amount within four to six weeks. The rebate card makes it easy for consumers to immediately access and use their rebate dollars without having to cash a check. A toll-free number has been established to respond to information requests.
The appliance-rebate program is particularly well suited for Delaware. Research commissioned by the SEU to identify the best opportunities to save money found that two-thirds of homeowners want to improve their home efficiency, but only 42 percent have plans to do so. Money was cited as the biggest barrier.
Other new Energize Delaware programs designed to help residents and businesses save money and energy, create new jobs and improve the economy and environment will start to roll out this fall.
They include commercial and industrial lighting, which will offer incentives for high efficiency lighting installations and retrofits; renewable-energy grants, which will assist homeowners and businesses with renewable energy resources; and the Sustainable Communities Initiative, a community-level program to combine renewable energy and efficiency. A Comprehensive Home Performance Initiative, which will provide a top-to-bottom approach to efficiency and clean-energy sources in Delaware homes, is slated for 2010.
