ARLINGTON, Va. - As the 13 SEER mandate anniversary passed, the HVACR industry continues to feel a cooling effect in the unitary market. The combined U.S. factory shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps for January totaled 326,756, down 54 percent compared to shipments from the same month last year, according to the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI).

In January 2006, shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps were nearly double that of January 2004 and January 2005 totals.

The rising popularity of heat pumps, however, did not insulate this sector from experiencing falling numbers. Heat pump shipments for January totaled 117,032, down 32 percent compared with the same month last year.

Commercial cooling equipment above 65,000 Btuh increased shipments by more than 9 percent compared with the same month last year.

For more information, visit www.ari.org.

Publication date:03/19/2007