Cash for appliances tip of the green money iceberg

By Flickr user Ingorrr

Lots of good consumer stories on tap these days as the appliance equivalent of ‘cash for clunkers’ is under way or about to be in dozens of states.

Read about the bones of the program – funded by stimulus dollars — at the U.S. Department of Energy’s  site. Each state’s effort is different in terms of cash offers, timing, duration and other factors but in general consumers will get a cash rebate for purchasing certain gadgets that meet federal Energy Star guidelines.

This USA Today recap includes some interesting nuggets that you might ponder localizing.  New York, it reports, is extending the appliance program which had been slated to shut down Sunday due to the popularity of the $50 to $75 rebates offered on refrigerators, washers and dryers.

Talk with appliance retailers and utility companies in your area about what they expect from the rebate program.  Is it a matter of shifting demand rather than creating new markets, as some critics of the CARS cash-for-clunkers program charged?  What’s happening to discards?

Sometimes appliance dealers cart away old equipment as part of the sales deal; are they hiring more truckers or reserving more landfill space?  How are things like refrigerators prepped for the trash heap and what happens hazardous materials from their innards?  Are scrap dealers paying for the metal hulls of washers and dryers?

A round-up of promotions linked to the appliance programs would make good fodder for a print box or Web piece; Sears and other merchants have been bombarding my e-mail since Michigan’s program started up two weeks ago.

Note another incidental tidbit in that story: Michigan apparently employs a state worker with the title “appliance analyst” for the state’s bureau of energy systems.  Who knew?

Do other states employ appliance analysts or people in similar posts?  They might be good sources to cultivate for future green stories, and frankly in these days of huge state budget deficits it might be worth checking out the bang for the buck in maintaining such positions.  (That’s not strictly a biz story but it becomes one if the job was instigated by lobbyists or other industry influence.)

While you’re on the subject of green government dollars, add some of these topics to your consumer guide:

Tax credits for individuals. People preparing their 2009 returns may want to double check in case they made any qualifying improvements, such as certain windows and insulation.  There also are credits for the use of certain types of alternative power; see Form 5695 and instructions for more details.

Help for homeowners. HUD and some state agencies provide grants that help homeowners weatherize and otherwise reduce energy waste; some info is also available on the federal energy department’s site.

Rebates from public utilities. Independent of the cash-for-appliances programs, many public utilities already offer rebates for the use of energy-saving appliances, incentives for energy audits, free starter kits and other perks for consumers willing to shift green.  This is an excellent opportunity to revisit those programs (and what they cost the overall rate paying public to administer) and include them in your roundup.

Small business. Ford Motor Co. just launched a program that incents dealers to use energy-efficient light bulbs and take other steps to reduce its carbon footprint.  Check with any major companies in your neck of the woods about similar programs, or state-level initiatives that provide cash incentives for energy-efficient firms.  And check out this IRS fact sheet that lists additional stimulus-related credits for businesses.