The Colorado Governor's Energy Office said today it will soon start distributing some $22 million in energy efficiency rebates to residents and property-owners who purchase specific appliances, equipment and services that reduce energy consumption in homes.

Starting April 19, the state will offer the energy efficiency rebates for many Energy Star appliances, solar panels, insulation, tankless gas water heaters, gas boilers, whole-house energy audits, duct sealing and other improvements.

Most rebates range from $50 (for dishwashers and some refrigerators), to $500 for certain high-efficiency furnaces. However, the energy efficiency rebates for some major projects like small wind generators (up to 10 kilowatts) and solar hot water systems can run as high as 30 percent of costs.

About one-third of the energy efficiency rebates have been reserved by the Governor's Energy Office for Energy Star appliances, furnaces and hot water heaters.

The program is not retroactive.  Products and services purchased before the April 19 start date will not be eligible.

Money for the program comes from the Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The rebates are designed to aid the economy and the environment, the Governor's Energy Office said.

Details about the energy efficiency rebates is currently available at the Colorado Governor's Energy Office website. As of April 19, the information will be published at the "Recharge Colorado" webiste. Energy Star is a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. The voluntary labeling program helps consumers identify energy-efficient products.

The Governors Energy Office today released the following list of rebates:

Home appliance rebates

All Appliances must be Energy Star Rated. Additional requirements exist above just Energy Star labeling in some cases

 Not all products and services will qualify for a rebate. The GEO strongly encourages consumers to review the rebate materials carefully when considering purchases.

For an appliance that is deemed eligible, the following rebate level will be paid:

Clothes washers $75

Dishwashers $50

*Refrigerators $100 with proof the previous refrigerator was recycled. Proof consists of a receipt from a recycling facility or a receipt from a retailer engaged in an existing recycling agreement with the GEO.  A list of retailers will be available in coming weeks.

*Refrigerators $50 with no proof of recycling.

**Furnaces - gas condensing $500

Hot water heater - gas condensing/high performance $200 (minimum efficiency rating available in coming weeks)

Hot water heater - gas tankless $300

Gas boilers - $400

*Refrigerators must be at least 12 cubic feet in size to qualify.

**Furnaces must also be rated at an Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE)  greater or equal to 92 percent


Residential energy efficiency rebates

Insulation and air sealing - 20% of cost up to $400 (will not exceed $600 if combined with an existing local utility rebate taken by the consumer)

Duct sealing - 20% of cost up to $75 (will not exceed $125 if combined with an existing local utility rebate)

Whole-house energy audit - tiered rebate of $25 to $100 depending on cost of audit

Whole-house energy monitor - $50 (will not exceed $100 if combined with an existing local utility rebate)

 Renewable energy rebates

Note: Rebates are based on system size, calculated per watt. So no hard dollar figure is provided here.

*Solar photovoltaic - 20 to 30%. In some cases, rebates combined with local incentives will result in a 50 % reduction in costs.

Solar domestic hot water - 30% of the cost

Solar thermal and/or hot water (commercial only - no pools, spas or snowmelt) - approx. 30 % of the cost of the system

Small wind (residential) up to 10 kW - approx. 30% of the cost of the system

Small wind (commercial) - approx. 15 to 20% of the cost of the system


Ron Rovtar is a broker associate at Prudential Real Estate of the Rockies in Boulder.  He is EcoBroker Certified® and can be reached at 303.473.1926. Please visit Ron's website for more information.

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