COLUMBUS, Ohio - Recognizing the need for rapid industry deployment to effectively compete with appliance retailers, Heating, Airconditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) is releasing - exclusively to HARDI member companies - a new Webpage providing the only HVAC-specific resource and listing of each U.S. state’s Energy Star appliance rebate program.

Funded by a $300 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) appropriation from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program (SEEARP) provides population-weighted dollars to each U.S. state and territory to establish state-wide rebate programs on Energy Star or greater retail white goods and professionally-installed appliances.

Almost one-half of all U.S. states have included HVAC products in their SEEARPs, with 15 states still awaiting DOE approval of their plans. According to HARDI, most states intend to run their programs on a first-come, first-served basis.

This special HARDI member SEEARP page will enable HARDI distributors to quickly understand their states’ SEEARPs and educate their contractor customers by providing the latest news and updates on any state SEEARP, lists of states with approved SEEARPs including HVAC products, states with approved SEEARPs without HVAC products, and those states that have not released any information about their plans, said the association.

The site also provides a spreadsheet updated weekly with start and stop dates for each state’s program, summaries of the HVAC products included and their rebate amounts, and contacts for more information. It is essential for the HVAC industry to be prepared to mobilize quickly before appliance retailers can exhaust the rebate dollars on clothes washers, refrigerators, and in several cases, window air-conditioners.

For more information, visit www.hardinet.org.

Publication date: 01/18/2010