If you’ve been waiting for a good time to upgrade one of your household appliances to something more energy efficient, you may want to set your sights on Monday, March 1st.  That’s the day the state commerce department launches an appliance rebate offer dubbed The Minnesota “Trade-in & Save” Appliance Program.

The rebates are higher in most cases if you recycle your old appliance at the same time, which is part of the government’s overall strategy for cutting energy consumption. In that way the trade-in program is similar to Cash for Clunkers.

Rebates will vary, depending on what a customer buys and whether they recyle their old units. But, like the clunkers program, consumers will have to apply for the rebates.  And the way they’ll to that is by reserving a rebate, beginning at 8 A.M. March 1st.  They can do that online by going to www.mnappliancerebate.com  or by phone, by calling toll-free 1-877-230-8919.