Nov. 5--EDMOND -- BY KATHY TOPPINS

THE EDMOND SUN

Oklahoma residents who still have an almond or avocado green refrigerator may want to purchase a new one in early spring. The same is true for owners of 30-year-old washing machines.

Replacing a washer made before 2000 with a new Energy Star model can save up to $135 per year in energy costs, and the new model soon may be eligible for a $200 rebate.

The Oklahoma Department of Commerce anticipates U.S. Department of Energy approval of its comprehensive plan for the state's Energy Star Appliance Rebate program by the end of the month. The rebates are expected to be available in early spring.

The proposed appliances and rebate levels are:

--Clothes washers, $200;

--Refrigerators, $200;

--Room air conditioners, $50;

--Water heaters, $100;

--Central air conditioners, $100;

--Gas furnaces, $100;

--Ground source heat pumps, $250.

Scott Weathers, owner of Weathers TV & Appliance, 2 S. Broadway, said, "Hopefully, it will stimulate shoppers to at least get out and look."

Most manufacturers, he said, are now offering $200 to $500 seasonal rebates. The peak appliance-selling season, he said, is spring and summer.

"People don't usually buy a new refrigerator unless their old one goes out, which in Oklahoma tends to happen in spring and summer," Weathers said. That phenomenon, he explained, is caused by warmer temperatures and at-home children opening and closing the refrigerator door.

Another time people tend to buy a new refrigerator is when they trade up in homes and decide to leave the old refrigerator behind. A slower real estate market, Weathers said, has slowed the sale of trade-up refrigerators.

A couple months ago, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced the rebate program to give consumers additional incentive to replace their old appliances with new Energy Star-qualified appliances. Oklahoma was approved for a $3.5 million federal grant through the program.

When the program was first announced, on the heels of the Cash for Clunkers program, it was tagged as "Dollars for Dishwashers." Although the federal program allows each state and territory to select its own set of Energy Star-qualified products, Oklahoma has not included dishwashers on its list of proposed appliances eligible for a rebate.

"Dishwashers were not selected for rebates in Oklahoma because there's more potential for money and energy savings with the other appliances," said Jason McCarty, Commerce Department spokesman.

Vaughn Clark, director of community development for the Deparment of Commerce, said the criteria used in writing the plan were energy savings potential and usage in Oklahoma.

A working group comprised of members from the Department of Commerce, Oklahoma Community Action Agencies and members of state utility companies developed the recommended rebates for Oklahoma. The working group estimated about 23,000 rebates for Energy Star appliances could be awarded from the proposed state plan.

Clothes dryers also aren't on the state's proposed list or the Department of Energy's longer recommended list. "There's no such thing as an Energy Star-certified dryer. They use too much energy to receive the designation," McCarty said.

Clark said old appliances must be recycled and removed from the property in order to qualify, and rebates will not be available for appliances purchased prior to the program's spring 2010 start date. He said only Oklahoma residential consumers will be eligible for rebates in Oklahoma, and there is a maximum of one rebate per appliance and two rebates per household.

The estimated annual savings in Oklahoma from the Energy Star appliance program is 7.7 million killowatt hours of energy; 34.23 million gallons of water and about 10 million pounds of CO2.

ktoppins@edmondsun.com |

341-2121, ext. 112

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