| Rebates and Tax Credits Can Lower Appliance Costs |
| | While you might have back-burnered your plans for a kitchen remodel or a new laundry room, you can’t ignore an ailing dishwasher, a struggling refrigerator, or a washed-up clothes washer.Fixing these appliances could be an option—see our repair-or-replace-it guide (available to subscribers)—but when you decide to replace appliances, consider more-energy-efficient models. This is one way to spend your federal economic-stimulus payment. And, as unlikely as it might seem, you can also turn to your utility company and the state and local government for some financial relief.As of mid-May, the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, maintained by North Carolina State University’s Solar Center with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, lists 732 utility rebate and loan programs for consumers who buy energy-efficient appliances or other home systems. (The DSIRE's map is shown.) The site also includes details on 35 state rebate and loan programs and 13 personal-income-tax-credit or tax-holiday plans.You’ll also fund information on rebate and tax-credit programs from utilities, states, and partners at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Partner Activities search; if you don’t see a program listed for your area, look on your utility bill for more information or contact your state taxation office.Read more about rebates and tax credits. |
| | 5/15/2008 2:31 PM (673d 14h 14m ago) |
| Solid State Lighting Last 10 Times Longer Than CFLs with NO Harmful Mercury |
| | Solid-state lighting, or SSL, could be the next big thing in residential lighting. SSL refers to a type of bulb—or lamp, in industry parlance—that uses the movement of electrons through a semiconductor material to generate light. The semiconductor is in a solid block form, hence “solid state.” Because there’s no filament that heats up (and eventually burns out), SSL is up to 50 times more efficient than incandescent bulbs, claim manufacturers. SSL is also said to last as much as 10 times longer than compact fluorescent lighting and contains none of the potentially harmful mercury that has brought CFLs image down to earth and made recycling them a hassle.Read the full Consumer Report. article. |
| | 5/02/2008 7:36 PM (686d 9h 9m ago) |
|
| Bosch Appliance Awards & Reviews |
| | Bosch received the highest numerical score with dishwashers and clothes dryers in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Major Home Appliance StudySM. Study based on 12,656 total responses measuring 11 brands of dishwashers and 10 brands of clothes dryers and measures opinions of consumers during the previous 24 months. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed in July and September 2006. Your experiences may vary. |
|
| Tip of the Day: Check Your Dryer Vents |
| | As the owner of a multiunit brownstone in Brooklyn, I’m used to troubleshooting problems and dealing with malfunctioning appliances. Recently one of my tenants e-mailed me, writing, “The dryer doesn’t seem to be working correctly; we have to run it for hours to dry a single load.” If you have the same problem with your clothes dryer, make sure you check your dryer vents. |
| | 5/12/2008 3:31 PM (676d 13h 14m ago) |
|