low energy

Woke up grumpy. It felt unfair somehow, as if I hadn't even given the day the chance. So I thought I'd turn my low-energy frown upside down and bring you the topic of rebates for low-energy appliances and fixtures.

Most of you non-reluctant remodelers probably already know about the excellent rebates available to homeowners who buy energy efficient appliances. Oregon has a particularly good program. Laurie at 1951RanchRedo encouraged Oregonians to buy energy efficient clothes washers a month ago. I came across this information a month prior to her post when, unhappily, our washer flooded the first time I tried to do laundry in our new house. I'd recount my laundromat tale (in particular, watching a homeless man eat a package of ramen noodles moistened with cold water from the laundry sink, and worse yet, knowing I'd been subjected to that scene for so many years in my twenties and I hoped never to set foot in a laundromat again now that I'm pushing middle age), but I'm trying not to be grumpy, so I'll...

ac-cen-tchuate the positive.

After being scared out of our wits by Eugene's cult hero Mr. Appliance, we ventured in to the local Sears to buy a new washing machine. Perhaps you'll get a sense of how reluctant I am to remodel when you hear that I haven't been inside a Sears since, oh, maybe, 1988.

We discovered that we could buy a new front loader for a couple hundred more than the mid-end top loader model we were considering. We happened in to the store on a one-day sale, and got a hefty discount on the washer and free delivery, plus we received:

- an Oregon energy tax credit for 10% of the purchase price, or around $100;
- $85 from the Oregon Energy Trust for having a gas water heater; and
- $35 from our electric company, EWEB.

Rates have changed slightly for 2007 and they vary by municipality, but they're still quite good.

High on low energy, I checked out the web when our toilet crapped out, and got, with our purchase of a new water-efficient toilet:

- $25 from EWEB;
- a 10% discount for new homeowners from Home Depot; and
- a free robe hook from American Standard (promotion is now over).

I was feeling so flush, I used my rebates to buy a Delta faucet, and saw on the web that I was eligible for a new homeowner $10 rebate from Delta (promotion is now over).

So the lesson, my friends, is that the internets can indeed be useful for more than just watching your favorite Mr. Appliance videos on youtube.

Photo of high-efficiency washer courtesy of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California