New Opportunities in a New Economy

The 2009 ENERGY STAR Appliance Partner Meeting

The 10th annual Energy Star Appliance Partner Meeting drew a record number (more than 200 in all) of manufacturers, retailers, utilities and other energy-efficiency advocates, all eager to capitalize on the Energy Star message in a weakened economy. The meeting focused on two themes.

The first theme: Additional appliance rebates are coming soon in every state. This year’s group of participants included many state energy offices, as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will be funding them to develop rebates under the $300 million State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program. Every state energy office has applied for funding from the federal government, and every state will decide which products they’ll rebate - most likely beginning in 2010. To find contact information for your local State Energy Office, visit DOE’s Web site, http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/state_energy_program/contacts_sep.cfm. A DOE Web site will be available with further details in late 2009. For more information on Recovery Act funding going to each state, visit www.energy.gov/recovery and scroll down to the clickable map of the U.S.

The second theme: Don’t wait to replace old appliances. Due to the state of the economy, many families have put off replacing their old appliances, not realizing that they cost hundreds of dollars more to operate each year than new, Energy Star-qualified models.

Consumers may be surprised to learn that many utility rebates are already available. The rebate finder on the Energy Star Web site can help your customers find them. This is a great way for consumers to see how much they can save now, even before state rebates are available.

The Energy Star Web site includes text any partner can use to promote qualified appliances. Visit the products pages on EnergyStar.gov for helpful consumer messaging. Look to the right navigation bar on the refrigerator, freezer and clothes washer pages to find targeted messaging on appliance recycling.

For those of you that missed this year’s event, we hope that you can make it next year!

Lani MacRae is the Energy Star communications manager for the U.S. Department of Energy.