ARLINGTON, Va. - Did you hear the champagne corks popping? Manufacturers of central air conditioners and heat pumps set a single-month record this June of more than one million shipments - 1,081,147 to be exact.

Growth in the U.S. economy is helping to fuel the momentum, said Ed Dooley, vice president of communications and education for the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI). Housing starts, though a little slower than last year, are still strong. But the main reasons for the strong performance, Dooley said, are the healthy replacement market and the sophistication of the contractors serving it.