Energy Efficient Week, October 5 - 11, 2006, encourages Floridians to invest in energy efficient products by providing relief from sales tax for approved products and appliances up to $1,500.

One of the highlights of Energy Efficient Week is that Florida law provides that no sales tax will be collected on qualifying sales of new energy-efficient products having a sales price of $1,500 or less, effective October 5 through October 11, 2006.

Qualifying energy efficient products include a dishwasher, clothes washer, air conditioner, ceiling fan, fluorescent light bulb, dehumidifier, programmable thermostat, or refrigerator that has been designated as meeting or exceeding the federal Energy Star Program energy efficiency requirements and has the Energy Star label affixed to the product or product packaging.

The sales tax exemption applies only to items purchased for noncommercial home or personal use, and does not apply when the product is purchased for trade, business, or resale.

NOTE: Please see the Tax Information Publication, TIP # 06A01-21 [pdf - 285 KB], for more information regarding the Sales Tax Holiday for New Energy-Efficient Products.

How to Start Saving Energy with ENERGY STAR Today!

1. Change a light and save a bundle. ENERGY STAR qualified light bulbs are 75% more efficient than incandescent bulbs. When just one room in every home is brightened by ENERGY STAR lighting, the change will keep over one trillion pounds of carbon dioxide out of our air.
2. Use an ENERGY STAR qualified programmable thermostat that can automatically adjust the temperature of your home when you are away.
3. Upgrade your refrigerator if it is 10 years old or older. Refrigerators use more energy than any other appliance in your home, but an ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator uses about half the energy of a 10-year old conventional model.
4. Consider replacing your room air conditioning system if it is more than seven years old. Look for the ENERGY STAR label when you buy and use 20% less energy than a standard model. If just one household in 10 bought ENERGY STAR heating and cooling equipment, the change would keep over 17 billion pounds of pollution out of our air.
5. Replace your clothes washer with an ENERGY STAR labeled model when it is time. Clothes washers use energy to both clean clothes and heat water, so to save on energy costs, wash your clothes in cooler water. ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washers use 50% less water and 70 % less energy per load; that's up to $100 every year.

The State of Florida's Energy Office website is: www.dep.state.fl.us/energy/

Address: Florida Energy Office
2600 Blair Stone Road
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
(850) 245-8002