South Carolina residents and retailers alike benefited from the state’s appliance rebate program, which ran from March 31 to May 19, 2010. All available rebates ranging from $50 to $500 were reserved within 50 days of the program launch. In total, $3.9 million in rebates were distributed for energy-efficient refrigerators, clothes washers, dishwashers, air conditioners, heat pumps, gas furnaces, and water heaters.

“Customers saved as much as 50 percent on the appliances they purchased in this program,” said Rebecca Griggs, program coordinator for the South Carolina Energy Office. “By combining rebates with offers from their local electric providers, manufacturer incentives, and tax credits, residents were able to claim multiple discounts and further reduce the price of purchasing new appliances.”

All funding for rebates on ENERGY STAR® qualified central air conditioning units, heat pumps, gas furnaces and water heaters were claimed by April 1, just one day after the program launched.

Customer Patrick Cobb was able to combine several incentives when he purchased a new heating unit. “The process was very, very easy!  I’m glad the rebates happened when they did; with the $500 rebate, the tax credit, and the dealer incentive, it worked out very well.”

The rebates also provided a boost for retailers. “Compared with 2009, retailers as well as contractors saw a 30 percent increase in ENERGY STAR appliance sales,” said Griggs. Store personnel were also happy with the online application system. “It took about a minute and a half and the large retailers were very pleased.”

More than 213 retail locations and 710 contractors issued rebates in all 46 counties, and more than 27,000 households claimed rebates. According to Griggs, the new energy efficient appliances will save these South Carolina customers more than $52 million in energy costs over the lifetime of the products.

Visit: http://energy.sc.gov/ and www.energysavers.gov/rebates