A/C, Heat Pump Shipment Data Show Continued Falloff
Shipments in the U.S. of central a/c units and air-source heat pumps fell sharply in August, compared to the same month last year, while shipments of both gas and oil furnaces rose modestly, according to the latest data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).
The a/c and heat pump shipment numbers reflect some of the headwinds industry leaders discussed during last month’s Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference: low consumer demand, high interest rates, tariffs on imported products and materials, and the continuing fallout from the transition to A2L refrigerants. Heat pump and a/c shipments had also dropped dramatically in July, compared to July 2024, and the year-to-date figures for heat pump and central a/c shipments were well under the totals for the first eight months of last year.
Shipments of residential storage water heaters, both gas and electric, were off slightly compared to August 2024.
Shipments of air-source heat pumps fell 20.3% compared to August of last year; some 322,448 units were shipped in August 2025, while 404,688 units were shipped in August 2024. Shipments of central a/c units dropped by 37.5%, or more than 200,000 units. There were 356,930 units shipped in August 2025 compared to 571,153 shipped in August of last year.
Gas furnace shipments rose 3.2% in August, when 300,585 units were shipped, compared to August 2024, which saw 291,132 units shipped. Shipments of oil furnaces climbed 10.1% in August 2025 (2,401 units) compared to August 2024 (2,180 units).
There were 305,401 residential gas storage water heaters shipped in August compared to 340,954 shipped in August 2024, a 10.4% drop. Residential electric storage water heater shipments fell by 14.7%, with 374,414 units shipped in August compared to 439,018 shipped during the same month a year earlier.
Year-to-date heat pump shipments were down 2.9%, as 2,751,248 units were shipped through August of this year compared to 2,832,062 units through August in 2024, AHRI said. Shipments of a/c units were off 16.3%, or more than 600,000 units, as 3,268,714 units were shipped during the first eight months of this year compared to 3,903,730 units during the same period last year.
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Furnace shipments, year to date, were up over 2024. Shipments of gas furnaces through August increased 10.3%, to 2,216,226 units, compared to 2,009,468 units shipped during the first eight months of 2024. Year-to-date shipments of oil furnaces increased 9.9%, to 17,891 units, compared to 16,274 units shipped during the same period in 2024.
Year-to-date shipments of residential gas storage water heaters decreased by 0.3%: There were 2,855,704 units shipped through August compared to 2,863,496 shipped during the first eight months of 2024. Residential electric storage water heater shipments decreased by 2.1% year-to-date, to 3,409,770 units, compared to 3,484,264 shipped during the same period last year.
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