According to ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) from 2009, the government offers rebates, for the purchase of appliances that are ENERGY STAR qualified. ARRA funded this program in 2009 with $300 million, and by using these rebates, consumers are able to buy appliances that are energy efficient, as long as they replace an old appliance at the same time.

This program is active until all the money are spent, or until February 2012. There is a good chance that the money will be spent sooner than the deadline, and all territories and states need to notify the consumers when the funds are exhausted.

Over two thirds of the energy we use in your houses comes from refrigeration, cooling, space heating, appliances or water heating. If you replace an old appliance with something that has an ENERGY STAR classification, you will be able to save quite a bit of money on your utility bills. Territories and states can select their own products that are qualified for the rebate, from the recommended appliances list from the DOE. This list includes freezers, dishwashers, clothes washers, boilers, furnaces, central air conditioners, room air conditioners, heat pumps, water heaters and refrigerators.

You can only get the rebate if you purchase one of the products that qualify, in the time period specified by each of the states. You can’t get a retroactive rebate.

You can only get a rebate if you purchase an appliance that replaces an older model. In some cases, states will ask for proof of recycling or haul away of the old appliance before giving you the rebate. It is up to each of the territories and states if they will allow for more than one of these rebates for each customer.

The rebate amounts are selected by each territory or state. Usually, they will vary from $50 to $500.