The appliance and heating rebate program encourages residential members to purchase Energy Star qualified equipment that qualifies under the Southwest Electric Cooperative energy efficiency program. Items available in the program include clothes washers, dishwashers, ground source heat pumps and dual fuel heat pumps.

• Energy Star rated clothes washer $100.
• Energy Star rated dishwasher $50.
• Ground source heat pumps $750 per ton on new systems, $200 per ton for replacement units.(Certain restrictions apply for residential ground source units exceeding 10 tons, and commercial and industrial units exceeding 50 tons.  Please contact the cooperative office for more details).
• Dual fuel heat pump $150 per ton.

• For clothes washers and dishwashers, the rebate will apply for the replacement of an existing unit with a new Energy Star unit and only if electric water heating is present.

For ground source heat pumps, the rebate will apply for the following applications:

• Replacement of electric resistance heat.
• On new home construction.
• Retrofit of an existing propane or natural gas heating system.
• Replacement of an existing ground source or air source heat pump.

Eligible equipment must be a new, Energy Star rated unit, with at least an EER of 14 and a COP of 3.3.  For units installed after January 1, 2011, they must be Energy Star rated with a minimum EER of 17.1, and for units installed in 2012 that rating would increase to an EER of 19.1.  Electric backup heat will be allowed for ground source heat pump units. The following specs are required for the sizing of the ground source heat pump.

Ground source heat pumps must be installed with a Delta T of 80. A Manual J calculation will be used to support the Delta T.  Please ask your HVAC contractor to verify that these requirements are met. The electric backup heat must be separated from the ground source unit with a separate breaker and must be wired to only act as second stage supplemental heat on a two stage thermostat or as emergency heat. The distribution system should also determine if a minimum of R-38 insulation is present in the ceiling and a minimum of R-13 is present in the walls.

For the replacement of the ground source unit only, it requires an efficiency gain of 3 EER ratings to qualify for the replacement unit rebate.

For dual fuel heat pumps, the rebate will apply for the following criteria.

• Replacement of electric resistance heat.
• On new home construction.
• Retrofit of an existing propane or natural gas heating system
• Replacement of an air source heat pump.

The dual fuel heat pump must use a propane or natural gas system for supplemental heat. Southwest Electric Cooperative recommends that a temperature setting of 25 degrees or the manufacturer/installer recommendation be used as the cut-in point for the supplemental heat to activate. The heat pump must be Energy Star rated with a minimum 14.5 SEER rating.  Units installed after January 1, 2011 must be Energy Star rated with a minimum 15.5 SEER rating, and units installed after January 1, 2012 must be Energy Star rated with a minimum 16.5 SEER rating.

To qualify for the rebate, the structure must be on a permanent foundation on land owned by the member and served by Southwest Electric Cooperative. All rebates must be submitted within 90 days of purchase.

Cooperative members eligible for the rebates should fill out the attached form and submit it to the distribution system from which they receive service. The form should include all requested information.

Energy Audits will consist of the following standards:

• A blower door test which pressurizes the building to locate places of air leakage and energy loss.
• Inspect rim joists, windows, doors, recessed lighting, electrical outlets and switches for air leaks.
• Document all air leaks as candidates for sealing.
• Check of the heating system filter.
• Check the heating/air conditioning duct work for air leaks if accessible.
• Check the temperature setting on the water heater.
• Install an insulating water heater wrap on electric water heating units.
• Install hot water pipe wrap from the top of the water heater up to 10’ if accessible.
• Provide a low flow shower head.
• Inspect attic and wall insulation and determine if any additional insulation is needed.
• Inspect crawl space and basement, if present, for any energy efficiency opportunities.
• Determine the presence of CFL’s and install provided CFL’s (with owner’s permission).

The items supplied in the energy efficiency kit are valued at $55.00, but will be provided for free with the purchase of the audit.

These energy audits will be conducted by a certified energy auditor who will prepare a report of any items found that might need replaced or repaired. If the member decides to make any repairs from the report, Southwest Electric Cooperative will reimburse the member for 1/2 of the repairs made, with a maximum reimbursement of $500.00.

Click on the link below for a rebate form that you can print out,

APPLIANCE REBATE FORM IN adobe .pdf format (click here)