By AARON MUELLER
Niles Daily Star

The state of Michigan will be offering its residents a gift this new year in the form of the Michigan Appliance Rebate Program.

Slated to begin Feb. 15, the program offers rebates on purchases of energy-efficient refrigerators, dishwashers and other appliances.

The U.S. Department of Energy supplied the state with $9.6 million to fund the project, $8.5 million of which the state will directly use for rebates.

The program will apply to energy-efficient refrigerators, dishwashers, propane furnaces, propane water heaters, oil furnaces and solar water heaters.

Jeff Miars, owner of Camden TV and Appliance in Niles, said his store will participate in the rebate program.

“It will be a real good pick-up for business right now,” he said. “With refrigerators up to 100 bucks off and with dishwashers up to 50 dollars off, that’s a good incentive for people on the fence to get in and look at them and consider making a switch.”

Miars said he’s had a few customers come into the store to inquire about the program last week, so he is hopeful the program will be effective in bringing more people into his store.

But it’s not just good for business but also for the consumer, according to Miars.

“It only costs $62 a year to operate an Energy Star refrigerator,” he said. “I’d estimate you could save $50 a year with a new (energy efficient) refrigerator.”

Miars said many new energy efficient appliances cost as much as 50 percent less to operate as appliances made 20 years ago.

Camden TV and Appliance has Energy Star refrigerators starting at $1,100 and Energy Star dishwashers starting at $400.

Jill M. Saletta, director of External Communications for Whirlpool Corp., issued a statement about the program.

“While our business and the industry both have a long way to go in terms of recovery, we believe the program will be good for consumers and serve as a great reminder that it is expensive to operate old, inefficient appliances,” she said.

The state hopes to pay more than 112,000 rebates. The new appliances are estimated to produce a total annual energy savings of more than 14 million kilowatt hours, save over 300 million gallons of water annually and create 117 new jobs in the state.

Proposed rebates
Clothes washers – $50
Refrigerators (Energy Star) – $50
Refrigerators (Tier 3) – $100
Dishwashers (Energy Star) – $25
Dishwashers (Tier 2) – $50
Propane Furnaces – $300
Propane Water Heaters – $100
Oil Furnaces – $300
Solar Water Heaters – $1,200

Source: State of Michigan