From a story on WQOW-TV:
Menomonie (WQOW) – The Cash for Appliances program is set to begin in Wisconsin. It will work similar to cash for clunkers, but only with large household appliances: freezers, washers, dishwashers will bank a discount.
By going green, you could end up saving some green in more ways than one.
“I think that what they want to do is tune up the energy efficiency of the appliances that are out there and if we’re saving energy and not burning electricity that makes everything green,” says Deb Rogge, owner of Denny’s Appliance in Menomonie.
Cash for appliances works like this: if you purchase a new energy star appliance after January 1st, you could get rebates of up to $200. But the program does have some restrictions.
“Not all appliance dealers are registered Focus on Energy or Energy Star dealers. It has to be for replacement appliances only because new construction will not qualify,” says Rogge.
And not all appliances qualify either.
“So if you are looking at replacing your washing machine, your refrigerator, your freezer or your dishwasher, those are the household appliances that it applies to,” she says.
So how much can you save?
Energy star refrigerators will qualify for a $75 rebate.
Select dishwashers: $25.
Energy star freezers: $50.
Certain energy star washers: $100.
Water heaters with certain energy efficiency levels will qualify for $150.
But just like the cash for clunkers program, the money may not last that long.