Cash for Kitchen Clunkers?

Cash For Appliances Rebates Headed Your Way

If your refrigerator is about to die or that washing machine has seen better days, don't despair. A rebate toward a replacement could be just around the corner.

All 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories, are in various stages of unfurling their own energy-efficient appliance rebate programs thanks to some help from the federal government.

Funding comes from nearly $300 million of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), often referred to as the federal stimulus package. The program aims to replace inefficient appliances with those rated Energy Star or better, stimulating sales for retailers and helping consumers save on their utility bills in the process.

Residents who live in Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Oregon and Wisconsin already can get rebates. For instance, the Connecticut Cash for Appliances program offers mail-in rebates ranging from $50 to $500 on certain refrigerators, freezers, room air conditioners, clothes washers and central air conditioners.

While most states are deciding to open the program to all residents, Kansas decided to use its funding to extend an earlier program for low-income residents and the Oregon Cash for Appliances program also targeted lower-income families with instant rebates on heating systems.

Along with the seven states that have already started their programs, Hawaii, Illinois and Vermont have also begun initial stages for the own programs.

Four more states - Georgia, Michigan, New York and Rhode Island - will start up their programs this month, with Idaho, which plans to start its program either in February or March, possibly raising that number to five.

New York has even given the program its own branding, calling the New York Cash for Appliances program the "Great Appliance Swap Out" and targeting a start during the week of Presidents Day. Unlike other states, New York is also offering residents the chance to bundle their purchases to save even more, earning rebates up to $500, or $550 with documented recycling of old appliances, total by buying a refrigerator, dishwasher and clothes washer.

But things will really start getting into full swing when March arrives. A total of 11 states will roll out their programs in that month, followed by more than 20 in April. At least seven of those states have targeted the 40th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22) to start their programs.

The Kentucky Cash for Appliances program is one of those with an Earth Day start. It's also one of the most far-reaching programs, offering rebates on 17 different types of appliances, water heaters and heating/cooling systems.

By the end of April, Nebraska and Wyoming, which are both unsettled on either an April or May start, may be the only states without a Cash for Appliances program already under way.

Source: ARRA