More people purchased furnaces and water heaters in November 2009 than they did the previous November, according to the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) data reported by Appliance Magazine. The data also shows that year-to-date sales are still down.
For example, shipments increased for the month for residential water heaters, both gas and electric, as did commercial gas water heaters. Only commercial electric water heaters decreased in shipments from month-to-month.
Whereas overall year-to-date shipments in each category were still lower in 2009 than in 2008.
The article doesn’t mention this connection, but it is possible the month-to-month increase is attributable to the “Cash For Appliance Clunkers” legislation recently passed by the US government.