The Web site for Iowa's Cash for Refrigerators program crashed Monday after being overwhelmed by the demand for appliance rebates.

Iowaappliancerebate.com became available at 8 a.m. A toll free telephone line was also having difficulties.

Officials at Iowa's Office of Energy Independence were told by the contractors the Web site could handle 850 telephone calls and 11,000 hits per hour. That was not the case as rebate seekers hit "redial" on their phones and "refresh" on their computers at a rapid pace.

The program offers rebates of $100 to $500 for Iowans who buy a new Energy Star or CEE qualified appliances. Rebate program director Linda King says the $2.7 million in federal funds for the program are expected to run out in two weeks.