Factory shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps for August totaled 544,179, down 4.7 percent compared with the same month a year ago, AHRI reported.

For the year to date, the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute reports that combined shipments totaled 4.6 million, a 4 percent drop compared with the same period last year.

Heat pump shipments for August were also down with a total of 155,539. This is down 3.3 percent from the same month a year ago. For the year, heat pump shipments totaled 1.4 million, a 1.8 percent jump compared with the same period in 2007.

U.S. factory shipments of gas-fired, warm-air furnaces in August totaled 191,910, a 23.7 percent drop compared with the same month a year ago. Oil-fired, warm-air furnaces for the same month totaled 6,788, a 4.5 percent drop compared with August 2007 totals.

For the year-to-date, gas furnace shipments totaled 1.4 million, a 17.3 percent drop compared with the same period last year. Oil furnace shipments for the year-to-date totaled 33,084, a 26 percent drop compared with the same period last year.

Residential electric water heater shipments for August totaled 349,863, a 1.4 percent jump from the same month a year ago. Residential gas water heater shipments totaled 338,328, a 3.3 percent increase compared with shipments for the same month last year. For the year so far, about 5.7 million residential gas and electric storage water heaters have been shipped, a 2.5 percent drop compared with the same period a year ago.

Commercial gas water heater shipments for August totaled 9,246, jumping 39.3 percent compared with the same month last year, while commercial electric water heater shipments totaled 7,489, a 23.2 percent increase compared with the same month a year ago.