Discounts for green shoppers

Herald Sun
Friday 3/4/2009 Page: 29

SAVING a couple of hundred dollars on a new fridge or washing machine just got easier for cash strapped battlers. A new State Government scheme can save Victorians hundreds of dollars off the price of electrical appliances if they go green.

The new Energy Saver Incentive offers discounts to anyone buying new energy-efficient fridges, heating and hot water systems from participating businesses. Anyone draught proofing a home, upgrading to gas or solar hot water systems or installing energy-efficient light globes also will qualify for a discount.

Businesses who use the scheme receive certificates for every ton of greenhouse gas they help householders save when they switch to less power hungry, more environmentally friendly products and appliances. The certificates are then sold to energy sup suppliers, who can use them to meet mandatory targets set by Government. Information about the scheme is available at www.energysaver.vic.gov.au.

Consumers can also save a wad of cash if they know which appliances use less electricity or water. "More Victorians than ever search on the internet to find the best deal in town, but very few know where to look for energy and water ratings," said Sustainability Victoria spokeswoman Sara Philips.

The information is usually buried in manufacturers' brochures and written in jargon only a scientist understands. Shoppers know appliances that use less water and consume less power can make a big difference to the family's expenses. "While quality greener appliances can be a tad more expensive than cheap power-guzzling models, they end up being cheaper in the long run," Ms Philips said.

What shoppers often don't know is where to find this kind of moneysaving information. One resource is the 300 retailers around Victoria specially trained to explain energy-efficient appliances. Consumers can find out where they are by logging on to www.saveenergy.vic.gov.au and selecting "shop smart" from the home page and keying in their postcode.

A third resource is an independent site, www.comparisons.com.au, which has charts showing the energy and water ratings of many appliances. But high energy efficiency and water ratings are not the final word on the reliability and quality of an appliance. "The ratings cannot be used as a guide to the product's level of after sales service or availability of spare parts," said Richard Falzon, head engineer at TCL Electronics.