Cash for Appliances Program Offers Rebates for Upgrading to ENERGY STAR-Qualified Appliances, Select GE

GE - Appliances & Lighting Can Help You Find Out Rebate Details for Your State
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(Business Wire)--
(NYSE:GE) - Many Americans don`t think twice about upgrading their primary
television set every couple of years. But what about the old family fridge - how
many of us stop to consider the fridge and whether it should be replaced?
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, we should. The DOE has found that a
home refrigerator typically uses five times as much energy as the average
television uses, based on national averages. [1]

Reducing the amount of energy a typical family uses by running older appliances
is the rationale behind a federally funded Cash for Appliances program, which is
designed to encourage consumers to upgrade from energy-hogging appliances to
ones that are energy efficient.

Cash for Appliances is backed by more than $300 million in federal funding from
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is being managed separately by
each state. [2]

When he first introduced the program, Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu
said: "Appliances consume a huge amount of our electricity, so there's enormous
potential to both save energy and save families money every month. These rebates
will help families make the transition to more efficient appliances, making
purchases that will directly stimulate the economy and create jobs."

The Department of Energy estimates that a home`s appliances account for about 20
percent of the monthly energy bill. The DOE also states that the lifespan of the
typical refrigerator averages around 14 years; 11 years for clothes washers;
about 10 years from dishwashers; and nine years for room air conditioners. If
those older appliances are low-efficiency, then the cost of the running them can
really add up.

The rebate amount, resident eligibility, and the list of qualifying appliances
differ from state to state.

GE - Appliances & Lighting offers consumers a broad choice of ENERGY STAR-
qualified appliances in all major product lines: from cooking and refrigeration
to laundry and hot water heaters - that can help families transition to more
efficient appliances.

One of these products, the new, award-winning GE GeoSpring hybrid electric heat
pump water heater, was the first water heater to receive the ENERGY STAR rating.
This new energy-efficient electric heat pump water heater will reduce energy
expenses up to 62 percent, saving as much as $320 annually on energy bills. [3]

The ENERGY STAR-qualified GE Profile SmartDispense Frontload Washers with Steam
Technology use as little as 10 gallons of water for a small load and can save
more than 5,800 gallons of water per year compared to a typical topload washer
[4]. Advanced water extraction and the dryer`s moisture sensors help reduce
drying time for added energy savings.

And that old family fridge? Beyond the cash incentive offered through Cash for
Appliances, there are a slew of environmental reasons for upgrading to a GE
ENERGY STAR-qualified model. For example, a single ENERGY STAR-qualified GE
refrigerator is designed to avoid the emissions of more than 2,200 lbs. of
carbon dioxide over the course of its lifetime compared to a conventional
refrigerator over the same 13-year period; this is equivalent to the carbon
dioxide absorbed in one year by 1/4 acre of trees in a southeastern U.S. forest.

For a complete list of ENERGY STAR-qualified GE - Appliances & Lighting products
and a state-by-state directory of Cash for Appliances rebates, visit
http://www.geappliances.com/rebates_promotions/american-recovery-act-state-appliance-rebates.htm.

About GE - Appliances & Lighting

GE - Appliances & Lighting spans the globe as an industry leader in major
appliances, lighting, systems and services for commercial, industrial and
residential use. Technology innovation and the company`s ecomaginationSM
initiative enable GE - Appliances & Lighting to aggressively bring to market
products and solutions that help customers meet pressing environmental
challenges. General Electric (NYSE: GE), imagination at work, sells products
under the Monogram, Profile, GE, Hotpoint, SmartWater, Reveal and Energy Smart
consumer brands, and Tetra, Vio and Immersion commercial brands. For more
information, consumers may visit www.ge.com.

[1] U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Savers - Appliances:
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/appliances.html

[2] http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/a/cashappliances.htm

[3] Based on DOE test procedure and comparison of a 50-gallon standard electric
tank water heater using 4881 kWh per year vs. the GE Hybrid water heater using
1856 kWh per year, and national average of 10.65 cents per kWh

[4] Compared to model WWSE5240DWW

GE - Appliances & Lighting
Allison Gatta, 502-452-7184
allison.gatta@ge.com

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