Cash for clunkers moves to appliances. Money back for your old Kelvinator?

As a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Obama administration is encouraging the purchase of energy-efficient appliances through an appliance-rebate program that will soon dole out money if you buy Energy Star-qualified models. Appliances that qualify
for Energy Star use roughly 10 to 25 percent less energy than the maximum allowed for that category by the U.S. Department of Energy, which runs Energy Star with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Unlike cash for clunkers, you won’t have to turn in your old appliance to get a rebate. But states are expected to have recycling plans for the flood of old appliances the program could unleash. And while the money is coming from Washington, how much you get for which appliance will be a state-by-state decision.

State energy offices must detail the amount of the rebates for each appliance category and their plan for recycling old appliances by October 15. The money will be divided via a formula in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that is largely based on state population. For example, California, with a population of nearly 37 million, will receive just over million, while Alaska’s 686,000 inhabitants will get 8,477.

Combining the soon-to-be enhanced state incentives with those from federal government and local utilities can yield significant savings. We’ve detailed how you can combine these specific
incentives on appliances, solar-, wind-, and geothermal-energy technologies, and air-conditioning systems.

You can save even more with these recently published appliance-buying tips from more than 25,000 Consumer Reports subscribers. We’ve also got ratings (available to subscribers) of 16 major appliance retailers and a wide range of appliances.—Bob Markovich | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Our ratings of air conditioners, dishwashers,refrigerators, and washing machines (available to subscribers) detail the best blends of efficiency and performance in our tough tests, which are typically more stringent than the federal government’s—and our ongoing tests have also shown that some Energy Star models use more energy than their EnergyGuide labels suggest.