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The NEW Winter 2010 Appliance Rebate Program for Texans

Chris Sully — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:00:15 +0000

Originally Posted – 10-28-2010

Earlier this year, we wrote a series of articles on the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program. This highly successful program, designed to “promote awareness of Energy Star appliances and decrease energy consumption,” is coming back and we want to make sure that you, your friends and your family are prepared. Don’t miss out on this chance to save energy and money.

The original appliance rebate program, which took place in April of 2010, was responsible for putting nearly $12.5 million back into the pockets of Texas residents. This cash-for-clunkers-esque program offered rebates to residents who took the opportunity to upgrade their aging and/or energy-guzzling appliances like dishwashers, freezers, refrigerators, air-conditioners and more. Rebates ranged from $45 – $1,600 dollars (per appliance). The program was successful, but a strict set of steps had to be followed if you wanted to take advantage of the rebates.

For those of you who missed out on the program in April or if you simply want another chance to save, a new Winter version is on the way. $10 million of unclaimed rebate funds will be available for additional rebates. Read on to get your checklist ready and see what you must do to be prepared.

Next Steps

Details on the Winter 2010 Appliance Rebate Program are sketchy for now. Texaspowerfulsmart.org, the official site of the rebate program offers only a small amount of information to date. As a consumer, it is your responsibility to be on the lookout and the state’s “official site for Powerful answers” has the tools you need.

Website – First and foremost, bookmark the official website and check back often. – http://www.texaspowerfulsmart.org/rebate/

e-mail updates – Get up-to-the-minute information by signing up for e-mail alerts. You need only enter your email address and delivery preference to get started. No other personal information is required.

Signing up for e-mail alerts takes only a few seconds

Twitter – For those of you who participate in the world of tweets, @PowerfulSmart has been set up for your following pleasure. In addition to updates on the rebate program, this Twitter account also offers energy efficiency tips and information on other tax credits/incentives.

TX Powerful Smart is on Twitter

JumpstartMyPC – be sure to follow us via the blog, Twitter and/or Facebook (all links available under FollowUsOn) for information. If we find out anything, we’ll pass it on.

Whether or not you plan on updating those old appliances, this information might be helpful. Think of any friends or family members who might benefit from this program and share our article with them. From the ShareThis plugin below you can easily share this message with anyone on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, via email, text or any of the hundreds of social networking options available. Your loved ones will appreciate you thinking of them.

UPDATE – added 12-07-10 @ 8am

The official date for the new Texas Appliance Mail-In Rebate Program has been announced. Starting December 20, 2010 qualifying purchases will be eligible for mail-in rebates as part of the program. Please note that rebates will only be available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are debating an appliance upgrade, you won’t want to hesitate.

UPDATE - added 2-16-11 @11am

A new email from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts arrived yesterday afternoon, indicating that funds are still available for the Texas Appliance Mail-In Rebate Program. According to the email “We’ve already approved over $12 million in rebates and funds are limited, so act soon!”

Also, a new website has popped up to help you keep an eye on the available funds. – Appliance Rebate Status Page

Appliance Rebate Status Page - as of 2-16-2011

Texas – Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program – UPDATE

Chris Sully — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 10:51:00 +0000

We interrupt this regularly scheduled FollowFriday to bring you some very important news about the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program. A few things have changed, including the date for reserving rebates and some valuable new information has been added to the Official State of Texas Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program Web site. For those of you who are familiar with the program and/or have been following our articles on the topic, you can jump on down to the Changes section. For the rest of you, we have a quick recap.

Cash-for-Clunkers for Appliances?

In February, it was announced that the highly successful Cash-for-Clunkers program would soon extend to home appliances, like dishwashers, freezers, refrigerators and air-conditioners. Those interested would be able to purchase new, energy-efficient appliances to replace their old, working appliances and receive a rebate from their state program (assuming the guidelines were met). These rebates ranged from $45 – $1,600 dollars (per appliance) in Texas alone. The program guidelines were different for each state and information was/is available on the Energy Savers web site.

We have posted 2 articles about the program so far, in case you would like to know more about it:

Cash-for-Clunker Program to Extend to Appliances in April – originally posted February 24th, 2010
Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program – The Final Countdown – originally posted March 25th, 2010

Changes

For residents of Texas*, an official web site was created for the “Trade Up” program and should be the definitive source of information for all program related details and questions. Yesterday (April 1st, 2010) some big changes were made to the site and the details of the program.
* Residents of all other states should refer to the Energy Savers web site for information on their state programs.

Official Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program Web Site

Reserve Your Rebate Date – The single most important change to the program is a NEW date to reserve your rebate. The new date (as of 4/01/10) is Wednesday, April 7th. This is the second change since the inception of the program and hopefully everyone gets this information. An email did go out on April 1st to those who signed up to receive alerts.
Reserve Your Rebate Time – A time has been announced. Beginning at 7am on the 7th (pretty easy to remember), consumers can visit the online reservation system at www.TexasPowerfulSmart.org or call toll-free to 1-877-780-3039 to reserve rebates.
More Rebates and Incentives – Additional federal, state and local incentives were added to the web site under More Rebates and Incentives. According to one of the descriptions “You can use these in conjunction with the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate for even more savings, depending on your area’s program.” I strongly urge everyone to read this tab, as their are other programs that sound very interesting.

Frequently Asked Questions

A Frequently Asked Questions area is available on TexasPowerfulSmart.org and anyone interested in this program should take a look at this page before visiting the reservation site on Wednesday. Many of the questions and answers are simple information duplicated from other areas of the site, but a few answered legitimate questions that I have heard raised before. In particular, I found this example to be very important (even if I completely disagree with the restriction):

Where can I buy eligible appliances?
Residents are required to purchase appliances in-store from a Texas retailer. Online purchases do not qualify for a rebate. Purchases of central air conditioners, air-source heat pumps and hot water heaters can also be made from a Texas contractor.

What Next?

I have said it before, but will say it again. IF you are interested, you NEED to take the following steps AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. This is for your own good.

Mark the dates on your calendar, place, device, trick…. Do whatever it takes to remember the reservation and purchase dates.
Read the web site thoroughly before the 7th! The information is straight-forward but you must be armed with the answers before you go to reserve a rebate.
Decide what rebate(s) you will apply for. You must apply for the proper category in order to receive a rebate. You don’t have to know the specific make and model of what you will be buying, but you must decide what appliances you will be replacing by the 7th.

Cash-for-Clunker Program to Extend to Appliances in April

Chris Sully — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:13:50 +0000

Intro: This article might be a bit “out of the norm” compared to our typical computer-based blog-posts but serves as an example of what using your computer can do for you. I found out about this program, and the details, via Google Reader. Reader allows me to follow multiple blogs and pick out the articles I want to read. In this case, I was following the Switched.com blog when I ran across the article titled States Extend Cash-for-Clunker to Appliances. The article contained the links I needed to drill down to the Texas Appliance Rebates web site.

That’s right, the highly successful Cash for Clunkers program will soon extend to home appliances, like dishwashers, freezers, refrigerators and air-conditioners. The thought process here is that the program will encourage consumers to put more money back into the economy, while removing older, less efficient appliances from the “grid.” As Terrence O’Brien (author of States Extend Cash-for-Clunker to Appliances) points out, “cars aren’t the only aging and inefficient products that people tend to retain long past their expiration dates.”

What does this mean for you and I?

First, you will need to arm yourself with the details of the program and what your state is going to do for you (since the rebate amounts depend on the individual state programs). We’ve provided a quick guide to show you the process of using the internet to get this information, using Texas as the model. Spoiler: The following steps are a bit cumbersome, but well worth your efforts. It’ll only take about 5 minutes to get through the links and locate the details for your state.

1) Visit the U.S. Department of Energy “Energy Savers” web site here.

http://www.energysavers.gov/financial/70020.html

: “Enery Savers” Web Site for U.S. Department of Energy

Read up on the details of the program, the types of appliances and the FAQ area (Frequently Asked Questions). Note that any appliance you replace must be Energy Star qualified and each state may select its own products.

2) Click on the map of the U.S. or the link provided (Learn about those programs and when they are projected to start.) to find out the details for your state.

: Find Rebates in Your State

3) Choose your state from the map or use one of the links listed below the map.

: Texas Appliance Rebates page

4) To get the REAL information on the program for Texas, you need to follow the link labeled Texas State Energy Conservation Office. **I would not have clicked on this link if I wasn’t investigating the program for the article and I suspect you would have skipped over it at this point as well. Usually “contact” is reserved for emailing someone.

: Stimulus Chart from Texas SECO Page

5) Believe it or not, we still aren’t there. To get the details, click on the link labeled Energy Efficient Apppliance Rebate Program. This page outlines the Program Objectives, Status and Details and this is where you will need to pay close attention. The program has a very small window of opportunity and a strict rebate process, but the rebate amounts are very attractive and understanding the program could save you anywhere from $120 – $1,075.

As shown in the image below, if you want to qualify and receive a rebate, you’ll have to map out your purchase plan in advance. You must “reserve” an appliance rebate by calling a toll-free number or registrering online “two weeks before April 16, 2010.” (that’s April 2nd) Then, you must make your purchase between April 16 and April 25, 2010. Mark your calendars now!

: Timing and Rebate Process for Texas Cash-for-appliances

UPDATE: (posted 3/24/2010 @ 4:00 pm)

Per an email sent out by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, a new site has been established for the “Texas Trade Up Appliance Program.” All appliance rebate program details will be posted on http://www.texaspowerfulsmart.org over the coming weeks.

Also, according to the same email “We are working to provide Texans with the most up-to-date information by creating a comprehensive program guide that will outline application details, how to apply and terms and conditions. We will post that document and notify subscribers to our Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program e-mail list once it is available. ”

UPDATE: (posted 4/02/2010 @ 6:00 am)

The official web site for the Texas Trade Up Program has new information, added yesterday 4/01/2010. Also, the Rebate Reservation period will now start on April 7th. Please see our latest article Texas – Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program – UPDATE for details.