AirScape Engineer's Blog

At long last! Southern California Edison, the only remaining utility company still needing to update their rebate list to include our 2.5 and 4.5 models, has finally done so. Good grief, it took them long enough!  For over 6 months now I have been making at least one, but usually more, pleading calls a week to their rebate center and rebate program manager. I’ve sent more than a dozen emails to them.  I’ve begged anyone over there who would listen to look at the California Energy Commission appliance database and the PG&E website for the required documentation, which are the only requirements listed for SCE to list a new product model.

It wasn’t the rejection that bothered me the most, although 6 months with no response is disheartening to say the least. What bothered me most was when customers would call us, frustrated at receiving a rejection to their rebate application, who had been told by the SCE rebate center that their list was absolutely up to date with no pending items.  No pending items? What do they call over half a year’s worth of unanswered voicemail messages and emails then?

Well, all my bitterness aside, I am happy to announce that the long wait is over.  Every model whole house fan that AirScape manufacturers is now listed on the SCE’s list of qualifying products. SCE qualifying product list

For a list of the other utility companies that offer rebates on our fans, see our rebate page. AirScape rebates

As a manufacturer of environmentally friendly products, it is always our goal to find new ways to be even more green in our business practices. In January 2009 we decided to implement a foam packaging recycling program to help reduce our environmental impact. 

In order to ensure that our fans reach customers throughout the country without damage, they require robust polyethylene foam packaging. Polyethylene is a highly elastic and strong plastic that can withstand multiple impacts, making it ideal for shipping heavy objects such as whole house fans. Unfortunately, both the production and disposal of polyethylene, like all plastics, causes serious damage to the environment. In many parts of the country polyethylene foam is difficult if not impossible to recycle, so most of it ends up in a landfill.

The only way to reduce the hazards of plastic is to reduce the production of new plastic products. This is done by both decreasing overall demand and increasing the recycling of plastic. Our program allows us to reduce our need for the production of new polyethylene and also reduce the total amount of plastic being thrown away. We reuse the foam as many times as we can and then we recycle it, ensuring that the foam returned to us does not end up in a landfill.

It is immensely satisfying to us that we have had great customer response to this program. Almost 1 year  into the program and we have an average return rate of 42%, and the numbers are constantly increasing! My personal goal is to achieve a 50% return rate by next Spring, and with the return rates always increasing, I believe we can easily achieve this goal.

We owe a big thank you to all of our customers who have supported this program. We would also like to send out a hearty thanks to UPS, who has kindly begun waiving label printing fees and also begun offering us a discount on our return packages. With the help of UPS, our foam recycling program has been made more financially viable for us to continue in the future.