Today’s New South Wales Government announcement of a drop in the solar hot water rebate from $1,200 to $300, has come as a shock to homeowners and suppliers, but homeowners can rest assure that they will still be able to receive several rebates when purchasing an environmental water heater, according to EcoSmart Hot Water.
The NSW Government’s Climate Change Fund rebate program for NSW Households, as of 15 January 2010, will commence with a new and expanded $175 million rebate program called the NSW Home Saver Rebates.
The high demand for rebates since they commenced in July 2007 has shown that NSW households want to take action to address climate change and save on their utillity bills. In recognition of this, the NSW Government is ensuring the program continues to its scheduled date of 30 June 2011.
Under the NSW Home Saver Rebates, the rebates for environmental hot water systems will be reduced in line with the Australian Government’s rebate program which offers NSW households up to $1,600 for the installation of solar and heat pump hot water systems.
The maximum rebate for NSW households who install a new hot water system as part of the new NSW Home Saver Rebates will now be entitiled to $300 for a gas hot water system with a 5‐star or higher energy rating; and $300 for a solar or heat pump water heater with 20 or more Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) when installed by a licensed plumber.
Commenting on the change in rebates, Mr Romano Bolzon, National Business Manager for EcoSmart Hot Water –Australia’s largest locally owned water heater company said, “New South Wales homeowners need not panic with the change in rebate values. They are still in fact entitled to the Federal Government rebate, in addition to Renewable Energy Certificate (RECs), and the new NSW Home Saver Rebate – all of which still offer the consumer genuine and generous savings on the upfront cost of switching to an environmental water heater.
“With the combination of the RECs, the Federal rebate and the NSW Home Saver rebate this adds up to a saving of up to $3,169 in their hip pockets.
“The government has been extremely generous with rebates for environmental water heaters to date. Homeowners are very environmentally savvy and are well aware that the government rebates are subject to change and available for a limited time,” Mr Bolzon continued.
EcoSmart Hot Water believes the hot water industry will continue to receive strong demand for environmental water heaters despite the drop in the rebate.
Mr Bolzon said, “With electricity bills set to rise and government legislation mandating the installation of environmental water heaters in the home, homeowners need to take this window of opportunity and install a heat pump or solar water heater while rebates are still available.
“Furthermore, the remaining rebates make the up‐front purchase of the water heaters easier to afford, and the systems quickly pay themselves back, leaving the consumer with pure savings after that,” he concluded.
Media enquiries can be directed to:
Diana Bauer
City Public Relations
(02) 9267 4511
dbauer@citypublicrelations.com.au
