Heat Pump, A/C Shipments Continue Sharp Dropoff
Shipments in the U.S. of central a/c units and air-source heat pumps continued a months-long falloff in September, leaving the year-to-date combined total nearly 1.1 million units — or more than 14% — below the number shipped during the first nine months of 2024, according to data from the Air-conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).
Gas furnace shipments were off slightly in September, while shipments of oil furnaces rose compared to September of last year, the latest AHRI report shows. Shipments of both gas and electric residential storage water heaters were up compared to September 2024, the report shows.
The decline in a/c and heat pump shipments perhaps reflects a slowdown in residential installations and the ripple effects of the HVACR industry's transition to A2L equipment, plus the shortage of R-454B refrigerant for aftermarket use.
September a/c shipments plunged by 49.4%, as 263,291 units were shipped versus the September 2024 total of 520,197. Heat pump shipments totaled 265,689, down 30.7% compared to September 2024, when 383,659 were shipped.
Year-to-date shipments of central a/c units were down 20.2% compared to last year: 3,532,005 units were shipped through September 2025, while 4,423,927 were shipped during the first nine months of last year. Heat pump shipments, year to date, were off by 6.2%, as 3,016,937 units were shipped through September compared to 3,215,721 through September 2024.
There were 281,001 gas furnaces shipped in September, a 7.2% drop from the same month last year, when 302,746 were shipped. Shipments of oil furnaces were up 18.8% in September, at 4,013 units, compared to the 3,379 shipped in September 2024.
Year to date, gas furnace shipments were up 8%, to 2,497,227 units, compared to 2,312,214 shipped during September 2024. There were 21,904 oil furnaces shipped through September of this year, an 11.5% increase compared to the first nine months of 2024, when 19,653 were shipped.
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Shipments of residential gas storage water heaters increased 16% in September compared to the same month a year ago. There were 337,447 units shipped in September this year and 290,923 shipped in September 2024. Residential electric storage water heater shipments were up 8.3%, as 395,204 units were shipped this September and 364,937 were shipped last September.
There were 3,193,151 residential gas storage water heaters shipped in 2025, through September, a 1.2% increase compared to the first nine months of last year, during which 3,154,419 units were shipped. Shipments of residential electric storage water heaters, year to date, fell by 1.1%, as 3,804,974 units were shipped during the first nine months of the year and 3,849,201 shipped during the same period in 2024.
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