Governments around the world are desperately trying to encourage the use of more energy efficient appliances and one way of doing this has been to offer government rebates for people buying new and efficient appliances. Recently, the UK government offered money for those getting rid of old cars for new ones and found it was successful – because of this they then applied it to boilers in a big to increase efficiency in the household. This offer has now ended in the UK but it was very popular with many people having new, more energy efficient boilers in their homes.

The US government offers a very wide range of rebates for those wanting to buy new, energy efficient appliances. Around $300 million is ear-marked for spending across the states to help people upgrade on new appliances. The tax credits are generally around 30% of the overall cost of the appliance. There are a few short, simple rules – firstly, you are entitled to 30% off the appliance up to $1,500 and only if you live in the house currently and it is your primary residence, therefore new buildings and second homes do not get this rebate. This rebate will last until 2010. Confusingly however, there is another rebate that expires in 2016 that allows pretty much any house, new or old, primary or secondary (excluding rentals) that can have the 30% rebate, and up to any price limit, not just the $1,500 limit as described previously. These rebates generally only apply to appliances carrying the Energy Star logo.