By Jeff Feldman

On August 24, the federal government’s Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act, better known as “Cash for Clunkers,” came to an abrupt end.  With auto dealerships advertising this rebate program via jumbo-sized block-lettered banners, flashing signs, and blaring TV commercials, it was hard to be out of the loop on this as summer wound down.  In the end, nearly 700,000 gas-guzzlers were taken out of service with rebates toward the purchase of new vehicles being dispensed to the tune of roughly $2.9 billion.  The program improved the fuel economy of America’s auto fleet by an average of 9.2 mpg for a 58 percent bump overall.  Could we have done better?  Of course.  Should we call the program a success?  Strictly from an energy efficiency perspective, I believe we should.

It seems I’m not alone in touting the relative success of Cash for Clunkers; similar programs are now taking shape, this time with sights fixed on inefficient household appliances.  In what one writer has nicknamed “Moolah for Maytags,” the federal government has made $300 million in economic stimulus funds available to the states to create programs incentivizing purchases of energy efficient refrigerators, washing machines, and the like.  States seeking these funds need to submit their plans for utilizing them by October 15, with funds becoming available to consumers late this year or early next.

Let’s face facts: that old fridge quietly humming away in your kitchen—the lime green one you inherited years ago when your parents moved into the retirement village—is an energy hog.  Replacing it with an Energy Star-qualified model could cut the energy needed for chilling your Bud Light by 50 percent.  If your appliances are more than 10 years old, you could save significantly on your power bill by upgrading to an Energy Star model.  That said, it’s always greener overall to stick with a product that’s in good working order than to replace it with something new.  However, if you’ve been nursing some older appliances along, and sense that a breakdown is imminent, the time to act and the opportunity to save may be upon you.

West Virginia is currently offering a sales tax holiday on the purchase of qualified appliances through November 30, 2009.  You can save the 6 percent state sales tax by buying an Energy Star product costing less than $5,000.  For information on this program see www.wvago.gov/energystar.

Recognizing that it’s always cheaper to save energy than it is to make new energy, more than 60 electric utilities around the country are offering financial incentives to their customers for upgrading to more energy efficient appliances.  These programs seem to be emerging on a state-by-state basis. Allegheny Power is offering rebates of $25-$75 on higher efficiency appliances to its Pennsylvania customers, but doesn’t seem to be mirroring this program in other states it serves.  Allegheny Power is currently seeking to increase its rates to West Virginia customers effective January 1, 2010.  If the state Public Service Commission grants this request, expect to see your electric bills rise by approximately $10 per 1,000 kilowatt-hours of power used each month.  The threat of higher electric bills offers a different sort of incentive for thinking about buying energy-efficient appliances. 

Though not quite as in-your-face as the cash for clunkers program, it seems that the tax breaks and other financial incentives for appliance upgrades and other energy efficient investments are generating quite a bit of interest.  Energy Star representatives say visitation to the Energy Star tax credit page is up about 500 percent with overall traffic to EnergyStar.gov up 50 percent over the past several months.   If you’re thinking about a new frig or clothes washer or furnace or water heater, www.EnergyStar.gov is your best first stop.  There you’ll find a listing of Energy Star qualified products, calculators to help you project potential energy savings, and information on the various tax rebate and incentive programs being offered by Federal, state, power utility, and product manufacturer organizations.

Jeff Feldman runs GreenPath Consulting, a green building consulting firm.  Jeff and his wife, Kristin Alexander, live in a strawbale home in Berkeley County.  You can reach Jeff at jfeld33@aol.com.