New round of energy rebates offered

<p>Homeowners in a half-dozen areas of unincorporated Sonoma County are eligible for rebates of up to $150 if they replace their water-sucking clothes washers and toilets with more efficient models.</p><p>Under a rebate program that expires June 30, the county Water Agency is spending about about $497,000 for rebates to property owners in Larkfield-Wikiup, Geyserville, Occidental, Penngrove, the Russian River area and South Park outside of Santa Rosa. The program is aimed at property owners who pay their sewage disposal bills to sanitation districts in those areas.</p><p>Most of the areas have not been covered by previous programs that proved popular with residents looking for incentives to replace their outdated toilets and clothes washers.</p><p>“Many of these areas have not been covered by rebate offers before,” said Brian Lee, water conservation specialist with the Water Agency. “This rebate program may have special appeal to property owners on well water and on sanitation district sewer lines.”</p><p>Homeowners are eligible to receive a $125 rebate on purchases of high-efficiency clothes washers, most of which are front-loaders that used 40percent to 60 percent less water than top-loading models. High-efficiency models tend to use from 18 to 25 gallons of water per load, compared with older top-loaders that typically used more than 50 gallons.</p><p>High-efficiency toilets are eligible for $150 rebates as long as they meet the standard of using 1.28 gallons per flush, which is less than the 1.6 gallons used by most older models.</p><p>“The technology keeps getting better, so more models are eligible for rebates than ever before,” Lee said. “There are single flush and dual flush models that reduce toilet water usage by about 20percent. One flushes with .9 gallons.”</p><p>Businesses in the areas also are eligible to participate. There also are rebate offers for ice machines, medical equipment sterilizers, food steamers and other commercial equipment.</p><p>Details of the program, along with specifications for acceptable appliances, can be found at www.sonomacountywater.org/scsrebates.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Bleys W. Rose at 521-5431 or bleys.rose@pressdemocrat.com.</p>