Nov. 1--New Hampshire has an ongoing rebate program designed to help people pay for solar power and wind power installations at their homes, and soon it hopes to have one to defray costs for "solar thermal," or hot-water systems that are partly powered by the sun.

The program, if it gets an OK from the federal government, would also include what might be considered "Cash for Clunkers" for home heating systems. It will provide rebates of several hundred dollars to help people buy more efficient heating systems, including those powered by fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas.

The $1.2 million program, paid for with federal stimulus money, will come through a U.S. Department of Energy program called the appliance rebate plan, but New Hampshire is using it only for home-heating systems rather than items generally considered appliances, such as refrigerators or dishwashers.

"The decision was made to save the greatest energy possible," said Eric Steltzer of the state Office of Energy and Planning. "With heating systems, we can save upward of 8 million BTUs annually per appliance; with refrigerators, it would be about 300,000 BTUs."

A BTU, or British Thermal Unit, is a unit of energy roughly equivalent to the heat needed to heat a pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. A gallon of fuel oil produces roughly 130,000 BTUs.

The state anticipates a decision on its proposal by the end of the year. If approved, rebates are expected to be available in early 2010 through late 2012 or until the $1.2 million is used up.

The home-heating rebate is an expansion of a program that Public Service of New Hampshire and other utilities began recently, called the Energy Star Homes Program.

It will give rebates ranging from $100 for a hot-water heater to $1,000 for a very efficient home-heating system.

It will be available to New Hampshire residents who are replacing an existing heating system listed under the program. "Given the high market value for recycled steel and copper and an existing infrastructure is in place to process these materials, (the Office of Energy and Planning) anticipates a high percentage of inefficient appliances under this rebate program will be recycled," the agency said.

PSNH's existing program is limited to 200 customers, Steltzer said, while other state utilities have even smaller offerings. The stimulus funding will allow it to be offered it to all homeowners statewide for as long as the money holds out.

The solar-thermal program, to boost the number of systems in which sunshine helps heat water for household use or home heating, will be offered under contract with the Sustainable Energy Division of the state Public Utilities Commission, which already offers rebates for small solar photovoltaic and wind power systems.

This program will provide a $750 rebate for systems.

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