ABC7 On Your Side: SCE rebates

LOS ANGELES "You wouldn't drive your car year after year after year without tuning it up. Same thing for your air conditioner," said Edison Energy Efficiency Director Gene Rodrigues. "So what we do is we help buy down the cost of that air conditioner tune up, so their customers' air conditioner will run cooler, be more productive for them, and actually last longer, so they'll save money."

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Edison customers can hire any licensed contractor, and after the work is done simply have them fill out the A/C Tune-Up Checklist rebate form that's downloaded from the Edison Web site.

"They turn that into Edison, and what we do is give the customer - right on their energy bill - either a $50 or a $150 rebate," explains Rodrigues.

To be eligible for the tune-up rebates, customers must have their A/C tuned up by July 31 and submit their paperwork no later than Aug. 31.

A common problem most homeowners are unaware of is when the A/C is low on refrigerant. A contractor can add Freon to the system to make it run more efficiently and cut down on the kilowatt usage, which saves you money.

Another program subsidized by Edison is one even Department of Water and Power (DWP) customers can take advantage of. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are extremely energy efficient and they last years longer than regular light bulbs.

Up until now they were more expensive. But at over 2,500 stores in over 230 cities, you can find CFLs for only a buck apiece.

"What we do at Southern California Edison is work with the manufacturers to buy down the cost," said Rodrigues.

And the Edison deals are not just on light bulbs.

"Anything that is a lighting fixture or a light bulb that saves energy, we're providing incentives to buy the cost down," said Rodrigues.

 

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