Got an old refrigerator, freezer, washing machine, dishwasher or room air-conditioner you’d like to replace with a more energy-efficient model?

Well, take down this Web address and phone number:

www.ALrebates.com or 1-877-856-6645

and be prepared to use one or the other as early Monday as possible.

50,000 REBATES AVAILABLE IN ALABAMA
Alabama’s Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program begins the minute Monday does. An anticipated 50,000 prepaid VISA cards ranging in value from $25 to $150 will be issued to Alabama residents on a first-come, first-served basis until the state depletes the slightly more than $4 million in federal funds available for our state as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Only those with an Alabama residential address (no post office boxes) can receive the Alabama rebates.

RESEARCH FIRST

To be uber-prepared, go to your favorite appliance retailer this weekend and scope out the deals they have to offer and make a note of the model number of the ENERGY STAR appliance you want. To qualify for the rebate, the appliance must have the blue ENERGY STAR logo on the front of the appliance or on its packaging. To be certain the appliance you want qualifies, make sure you can find it on the ENERGY STAR website. You won't need the model number to reserve your rebate, but you will need it when you send in the paperwork to receive the rebate.

With the appliance you want in mind, get on the Internet or the telephone first thing Monday and reserve your rebate. The phone number will be open beginning at 7 a.m. Then get to the store, buy the appliance and mail in the required documentation within 15 days from when you made the rebate reservation. If you reserved the rebate Monday, get your documents in by Monday, May 3^rd.

WHAT YOU'LL GET
Within 30 days, you should receive a prepaid VISA card that you can spend anywhere VISA is accepted over the next 12 months.  Here are the VISA card amounts you’ll receive for the corresponding appliances:

• Refrigerators (must by full size, no compact models): $150
• Washers: $100
• Dishwashers: $75
• Freezers: $50
• Air conditioners: $25

On top of the federal rebates, many manufacturers are offering additional rebates on the selling price and on delivery. The retailers also may be offering discounts; some are even doubling the rebates on certain models. Again, do your research before Monday to find out who is offering the best deals. You can do your research online, but you’ve got to buy the appliances in store. No online purchases will qualify for the rebates.

If you need one of these major appliances, it is a great time to save money up front and energy costs over the long haul.

EARLY SHOPPERS WILL GET THE REBATES
Act fast, though. Some states depleted the available federal funds in the first day the rebates were offered. Those states offered larger rebates than what is being offered in Alabama. It took Georgia, two months to distribute $4 million in rebates. Since Georgia’s and other states programs have been up and running for a couple of months, however, more people are aware that these federal rebates are out there. Representatives of the Energy Division of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs have traveled the state in the past two days to publicize the Alabama rebates, so the word is out. Better to be early and get your rebate reserved.

If Alabama’s rebates do go quickly and you are still in the market for one of these appliances, go ahead and get on the waiting list. The money for anyone who reserves a rebate and then doesn’t claim it in 15 days reverts back to the pool of money available. Like the rebates themselves, the money will be doled out to those on the waiting list on a first-come, first-served basis.

Patience also may called for as some states have had such a rush for the rebates that the website and/or phone line crashed. Again, the website should be operational the minute Monday begins. The website will let you know how much of the rebate money is still available. That total will change in real time, so each time an amount is reserved, it will come off the total available. If the phone number is busy, try again. It the number actually goes to hundreds of lines. You'll eventually be able to get through.

The energy-efficient appliance you buy has to replace an older inefficient model, but there is no requirement to recycle the old appliance. Ask your retailer if they’ll haul away and properly dispose of your old appliance. Many of them will for free.

Now, get out there and save!

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