U.S. factory shipments of residential cooling and heating equipment declined in July, compared with the same month a year ago. Although, oil-fired, warm-aired furnaces and heat pump shipments showed a bit of an increase compared to last year’s numbers, according to the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).
Warm Air Furnaces
U.S. factory shipments of gas-fired, warm-air furnaces in July totaled 161,301, a 13.8 percent drop compared with the same month last year. For the year-to-date, gas furnace shipments totaled 1,056,915, a 14.8 percent drop compared with the same period last year.Oil-fired, warm-air furnaces for the same month totaled 3,057, an 11.2 percent increase compared with July 2008 totals. Oil furnace shipments for the year-to-date totaled 21,526, an 18.1 percent drop compared with the same period last year.
Storage Water Heaters
For the year-to-date, about 2,183,800 residential gas water heaters have been shipped, about 11.3 percent drop compared with the same period a year ago. Also, for the year-to-date, about 2,209,732 residential electric storage water heaters have been shipped, a 13.9 percent drop compared to the last year.As for commercial electric water heater shipments, year-to-date numbers totaled 33,870, which is 18.4 percent behind total shipments of this product during the same period last year (41,523). Commercial gas water heater shipments (45,854) for the year-to-date are down 16.7 percent, compared with the same period a year ago (55,055).
Central Air Conditioners and Air-Source Heat Pumps
For the year-to-date, combined U.S. factory shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps shipments totaled 3,353,331, down 17.7 percent compared with the same period last year.Heat pump shipments for July totaled 156,464, up 21.3 percent from the same month a year ago. However, for the year-to-date, heat pump shipments totaled 1,073,924, a 14.6 percent drop compared with the same period last year.
