Reminder: North Carolina's sales tax holiday on Energy Star appliances starts today and runs through the weekend.

If you've been thinking about purchasing new appliances for your home, you might want to wait a few weeks and save yourself some money.

The weekend of Nov. 2 through Nov. 4 is North Carolina's Energy Star sales tax holiday, the state's fifth annual.

Energy Star products that meet efficiency guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy are exempt from sales and use taxes. Qualified products will have an Energy Star label, making them easier to identify.

Financial rebates for buying energy-efficient home appliances will expire Monday under North Carolina's latest Energy Star rebate program. State officials are urging those who bought high-efficiency appliances on or after Jan. 1 to claim up to $300 in rebates by 5 p.m. Monday.

The program, launched in February, pays between $50 and $300 for purchases of air conditioners, heat pumps, water heaters and other efficient appliances. The money comes from the federal stimulus package that is now wrapping up as the funds are depleted.

North Carolina has offered several Energy Star rebate programs in past years, distributing more than $11 million for nearly 80,000 appliance purchases. The current program will disburse an additional $1.2 million.

To claim a rebate residents are asked to go to www.ncappliancerebate.com/ or call 1-855-208-6242.

Sensus, the Raleigh company that makes two-way utility meters and smart grid technology, has scored a license to distribute energy management software that allows consumers to monitor the electricity consumption of appliances on their property.

The software, created by U.K.-based Navetas Energy Management, will be available as an optional service that gives Sensus metering customers an online and mobile portal to track the electricity consumption of appliances. The system also provides information about daily usage patterns and the costs linked to each device.

"Our technology allows the customer to see disaggregated data such as the electricity consumed by a water heater in a basement or a toaster oven in the kitchen and know how much each device costs them to operate," said Matt Auto, Sensus’ vice president of corporate strategy and business development, in a statement.

Sensus’ meters allow homeowners and businesses to connect to smart grids and adjust thermostats remotely as well as track daily energy usage.

BSH Home Appliances started the year by saying it would cut 100 jobs at its New Bern factory. It’s ending the year by adding a 100 jobs at the same facility.
Those jobs will be added over the next four years as the company invests in a new line of dishwashers.

Craven Community College, using a Golden LEAF grant, will train current and future employees of the BSH factory in New Bern, as well as employees of other industries in Craven and surrounding counties, according to a news release from Gov. Bev Perdue’s office.

The company is a joint venture of Germany’s Bosch and Siemens. The New Bern facility, which opened in 1997, makes stoves, dishwashers and other appliances under the Bosch and Thermador brands.

When it announced the January layoffs, company officials said they would continue to invest in their dishwashing business at the facility.

The company recently opened a customer service call center at the New Bern location. Once fully staffed, it will employ 30 factory-trained representatives who will assist customers throughout North America.
 

Need a new washing machine or fridge? This weekend, you'll have the opportunity to purchase energy-saving appliances without paying state and local sales taxes.

In today's local news section, I wrote a story on North Carolina's Energy Star Tax Holiday, which starts Friday and has the potential to save you big money buying products that will also trim your energy bills. Click here to read the full story.

As Amgad Saad, an owner of Garner TV & Appliance told me: "The average refrigerator we sell is $2,000 so that's a nice savings."

$135 in savings, to be exact. Very nice.

Swedish appliance maker Electrolux will open a new engineering and design center in Charlotte and create an additional 200 jobs.

State officials this morning awarded the company incentives worth up to $7.5 million if it meets hiring and investment goals.

Charlotte and Mecklenburg County are providing the company with $630,000 in incentives as part of this latest expansion.

Electrolux already employes 450 people in Charlotte, where it has its North American headquarters. The new center will be an expansion of its existing facility.

The company announced in 2009 that it would relocate to Charlotte and would create 738 jobs over four years.

The company was lured to Charlotte with state and local incentives that could be worth more than $27 million if it meets job creation, investment and wage goals.
 

If you missed the first round of Energy Star appliance rebates and want to take advantage of the second phase that began today, you better hurry. The funds are going fast. Read more about it on .biz.

Consumers who replace older heat pumps, furnaces, water heaters and other appliances with energy-efficient models can get rebates worth up to $300 starting next month.

State officials announced today that they're starting a second appliance rebate program on June 1 to hand out about $1 million in federal stimulus money.

The program expands an earlier rebate offer that gave out about $7 million to consumers who bought more than 54,000 energy-efficient refrigerators, freezers, washing machines and dishwashers last month. That program ended April 25 but left the state with about $1 million that it still needs to give away.

The new rebates will include: $300 for air conditioning systems, heat pumps or gas furnaces; $200 for water heaters; $100 for washing machines or dishwashers; and $75 for refrigerators or freezers.

In the first half-day of the state's Energy Star appliance rebate program, shoppers snapped up about 20 percent of the available $8.8 million.

The program, which has been equated to last year's Cash for Clunkers program for cars, is aimed at getting consumers to upgrade to more energy efficient appliances. Shoppers in North Carolina are eligible for a 15 percent instant discount on the purchase of qualifying Energy Star washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers through Sunday, or until the funding runs out.

As of 11:30 a.m. today, there was $6.3 million remaining, according to the N.C. Energy Office. The first record sale was processed at 12:04 a.m. by Caldwell TV & Appliance in Hickory on the purchase of a clothes washing machine.

Are you thinking of replacing that old refrigerator or dishwasher? This weekend is the time to do it. The North Carolina appliance rebate program runs tomorrow through Sunday, which offers a 15 percent instant rebate on Energy Star appliances. Find out more information about the program here.