Cash For Clunkers For Appliances?
The recently ended Cash For Clunkers program for vehicles may soon be coming for kitchen appliances called Cash for Refrigerators. This new program will possibly offer rebates of up to $200 on various energy efficient appliances throughout your kitchen. The thought behind this new program is that it will help boost struggling sales in the appliance industry, while providing people with an incentive to upgrade to more energy efficient models.
There are some major difference with Cash for Refrigerators that separates it from the original Cash for Clunkers. The current estimate as to how much money will be offered is around $300 million, much less than the Cash for Clunkers. The first is that it will be offered at the state level and in the form of rebates and require them to submit plans on how they will administer the program by October 15th. There are currently many states that offer rebate programs for appliances, so this program will either expand upon those programs or create them in states that currently don’t have them.
This program doesn’t seem as appealing as the original Cash For Clunkers though. States have already been offering incentive programs for appliances with little success. ‘Cash for Refrigerators’ has not been widely advertised and is not getting the press that Cash for Clunkers is getting. On top of all that, retail stores have been slashing the prices on appliances with little success so far. Buyers probably won’t rush to appliances stores to buy appliances just for this rebate.
There are also some concerns with the fact that many it may not be all that “green”. With Cash for Clunkers, you were required to trade in your vehicle and have it recycled. This program does not require you to trade in an appliance. A person could buy a new appliance, while still continuing to use the old energy hog of an appliance. It could also encourage people to unnecessarily buy new or larger appliances when the ones they have are just as energy efficient if not more energy efficient.
States are already starting to submit their proposals for this program and all money should be awarded by November. If you are on the edge about upgrading your old appliances that use a ton of energy, take advantage of this program when it becomes available in your state. It may not necessarily be in your best interest to upgrade your appliances just because a rebate is available though. Be sure to check out my kWh Energy Calculator to compare the energy usage and cost you could be saving by upgrading your appliances.
I will keep you updated on any changes in this program and when rebate money officially becomes available to states.
Comments
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September 2nd, 2009
Along the same lines, my power company recently sent me a list of items I could purchase and receive a discount for. Such as upgrading to a more energy efficient water heater or adding insulation in the attic. I agree that this program and, by extension, the Cash for Refrigerator program, doesn’t seem to offer the same bang for your buck that the car one offered.
With each state getting to develop their own plan, it will be interesting to see how it works out…
It’s still better than nothing, I think it could work – so many people just chuck their old stuff away instead of properly recycling.
Great news it seems very reliable and effective offer.
That good news. The number of old, inefficient appliances out there is staggering. Once programs like this come into effect, and I think they should be mandatory, the reduction in energy costs is huge when new, efficient appliances are used.
Haha, yeah I saw this at a home show the other day and i was very surprised. What’s going to be next, credit for old couches? I guess I wouldn’t mind that!
-Jack
Would be a good step in the right direction, I think it would be a success.
I think the program should have come with some sort of recycling incetive. It does no good to fix one problem of energy hogging appliances and create another with all the excess lanfill waste.
Very good point. With people buying new appliances, what are they going to do with the old ones, but throw them out and end up in landfills. If they could recycle them, not only would it be a better incentive, but also better for the environment.
Thats exactly the problem with our wasteful consumer practises. Its not that its the consumers fault, but rather the companies producing these products that fall out of the loop very quickly with new developments. Landfills are already extremely full of stuff that shouldn’t be there, and it will continue without a doubt!
Interesting- unfortunate that you’re not required to turn in your old appliance or make sure that it’s properly recycled…
In Australia you’re required to pay a fee to recycle your fridges or computers. Isn’t that an incentive….. for illegal dumping.