An upcoming statewide appliance rebate program will offer Wyoming residents several hundred dollars in rebates on new energy efficient appliances, Wyoming Energy Council officials said at Tuesday’s Wyrulec Energy Efficiency Seminar.

The statewide rebate would work with rebates already offered through the federal government, Tri-State and Wyrulec. According to figures presented by the Wyoming Energy Council, the total savings on some appliances could be near $400.

Wyrulec, Tri-State and Wyoming Energy Council officials used the seminar at the Goshen County Fairgrounds to inform area residents of rebate programs available for home energy efficiency improvements.

Tiger Adolf, executive director of the Wyoming Energy Council, said the upcoming Wyoming Appliance Rebate Program doesn’t begin until April 15.

“Don’t buy anything until after this starts, they won’t let it qualify,” she said. “You need to wait so you can qualify for your rebate.”

As part of the upcoming rebate program, Wyoming residents who purchase a washing machine, dishwasher, gas tankless water heater, electric heat pump water heater, solar water heater or gas furnace that meets federal Energy Star requirements would be eligible for a mail-in rebate. $511,000 worth of grants are set aside for this program.

Adolf said she thinks the upcoming rebate program “hits the hot spots.”

“They are all about job creation, market expansion, green jobs, clean energy,” she said. “(The government) wants buildings to be more energy efficient because it is the best way to lower carbon, the best way to save resources and the best way to keep jobs in the country.”

The amount of the rebate paid out depends on the type of appliance. Dishwashers, for example, pay out a $50 rebate, while a more expensive gas furnace warrants a $250 rebate. Old appliances have to be recycled for buyers to be eligible for the rebates.

Craig Leithead, a salesman at Leithead’s Appliance Center in Torrington, said despite the high cost of some models, he would recommend Energy Star appliances to his customers and encourage them to take advantage of the rebate programs.

“The Energy Star frontload washers are very popular right now. People love them,” he said. “We probably sell about 2-to-1 Energy Star to standard washer. People seem to like the time savings as much as the money savings.”

The federally funded energy efficiency tax refund plan lets consumers who purchase and install specific products, such as energy-efficient windows, insulation, doors, roofs, and heating and cooling equipment in existing homes receive a tax credit for 30 percent of the cost, up to $1,500, for improvements placed in service by Dec. 31.

Consumers who install renewable energy options in their homes are eligible for a separate 30 percent tax rebate up to $1,500. The USDA also offers a variety of energy grants to rural customers.

In addition to the federal and state rebates, both Wyrulec and its generating company Tri-State, offer joint rebates for the purchase of Energy Star appliances.

Mike McCoy, senior engineer at Tri-State said while these rebates are less than the upcoming state rebates, they can be “piggybacked” on top of other rebates.

“From our end, you can double dip, or even triple dip, if you want to,” he said.

McCoy added installing energy efficient lights, recycling old refrigerators and other smaller energy efficiency improvements could result in discounts. The Wyoming Appliance Rebate Program doesn’t give refunds for such actions.

The company also offers commercial and municipal discounts for businesses and cities that convert to using LED powered lighting in coolers or streetlights.

“You go to a Wal-Mart and you see that they are putting (LED refrigerator lights) in as fast as they can,” McCoy said, “Because they are open 24/7, they can hook up sensors that operate the lights only when customers are around.”

He added many of the large stores that convert to LED lights for cooler cases pay off their initial investment within nine months of installing the systems.

More than a year ago, Tri-State converted their entire parking lot lighting system to LED based fixtures. McCoy said in the time it has taken to switch the system, the company cut energy costs by 61 percent and hasn’t had a service call to replace a light.

“By using the LEDs, not only do they allow you to do the things you want to do that you couldn’t do easily with the other technology, but they save you money while you’re doing it,” McCoy said. “Even at the current prices, (LED lighting) still offers a great number of benefits to everybody.”



For the complete article see the 02-12-2010 issue.

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