York® HVAC age

How to determine the date of production/manufacture or age of York® brand HVAC Systems.

The industry average service design life for most forced air furnaces is 15-20 years, and the industry average service design life for most air conditioning condensing units is 10-15 years. The average service design life of boilers can vary from as little as 10 years to as many as 50 years depending on the type and quality of materials used in their manufacture. Routine upkeep/maintenance, regional weather/climate, and location/placement of the mechanical systems will all play critical roles in the longevity of these systems.

Parent Company: Johnson Controls International (soon to be Bosch in 2024-2025)

The date of production/manufacture or age of York brand HVAC equipment can be determined from the ten character serial number located on the rating data plate.

Example serial number styles/formats found:

Style 1: W0K5896070
Style 2: WAKM011379

Legend: Year is RED; Month is GREEN; Week is BLUE

Style 1: W0K5896070

Style used since 2004

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 2^nd & 4^th positions (numbers) of the serial number

Month of manufacture can be determined by using the 3^rd position (letter) of the serial number (see chart)

This style of serial number has been used exclusively since 2004.

Style 2: WAKM011379

Style used from 1971 to 2004

Year of manufacture can be determined by using the 3^rd position of the serial number (see chart)

Month of manufacture can be determined by using the 2^nd position of the serial number (see chart)

CAUTION: We have seen some serial numbers of this style begin with a letter contained in parenthesis - i.e. (S)EBHM062202. This is the same styling, just ignore the first letter in parenthesis.

This style of serial number was used prior to 2004.

Brand® History¹

1874 - York Manufacturing Co. was founded in York, Pennsylvania
1885 - The company built its first ice machine for a customer in Mississippi
1897 - Ice making and refrigeration comprised York's product lines. All other product lines discontinued or sold.
1903 - Company installed a large system for dehumidifying blast-furnace air in a factory operated by Carnegie Steel Co.
1914 - Air conditioned the Empire Theater in Montgomery, Alabama
1923 - York's first air-conditioning for an office building
1927 - Company reincorporated in Delaware with nine affiliated companies, and was renamed the York Ice Machinery Corp.
1942 - Company was renamed the York Corp.
1948 - York's first automatic ice makers for hotels, restaurants, and hospitals, were introduced
1950 - Hermetically-sealed cooling circuits for room air conditioners were brought to market. York also introduced a residential air-conditioning unit to sell for under $1,000
1954 - Introduced first single-stage, high-speed centrifugal refrigeration compressor
1956 - Borg-Warner Corp., a diversified Chicago-based manufacturing company known best for its automotive parts, acquired York. Becomes York Division of Borg-Warner Corp.
1968 - York installed the world's largest water-cooled air-conditioning system , weighing 49,600 tons at the World Trade Center in New York City
1981 - York acquired Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s air-conditioning division
1986 - Borg-Warner spun off York as an independent company - York International Corp.
1994 - York residential products now being marketed under the York, Luxaire, Fraser-Johnston, Moncrief, Homeair, and Bristol trademarks. York commercial products were being marketed under the York, Luxaire, Fraser-Johnston, Miller-Picking, and Tempmaster trademarks. York refrigeration and gas-compression equipment designed for industry were being marketed under the York, York Food Systems, Frick, Frigid Coil, Imeco, Reco, and Recold trademarks.
2005 - Johnson Controls acquires York International
2015 - Johnson Controls enters into joint venture with Hitachi, creating Johnson Controls Hitachi AC Limited incorporated in Tokyo, Japan. The joint venture is a 60/40 split between Johnson Controls and Hitachi respectively. The joint venture remains based in the Asian markets.
2016 - Johnson Controls mergers with Tyco International to become Johnson Controls International - making them now headquartered in Cork, Ireland.
2023 - Johnson Controls reports the business generated approximately $4.5 billion in consolidated revenue in fiscal year 2023, and will continue to provide products under the York, Hitachi, Coleman, Champion, Luxaire, Guardian, Evcon and TempMaster brands. This revenue made up 40% of 2023 fiscal year sales for Johnson Controls.
2024 - In march of 2024, Johnson Controls announced its intent or interest to sell the residential and light commercial HVAC business. Reuters reported that Bosch, Lennox International and Samsung Electronics were potential interested buyers at the time. In July of 2024, it was announced that Bosch had agreed to purchase the residential and light commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning business of Johnson Controls International for $8 billion in cash, the largest acquisition in Bosch's history. As part of the transaction, Bosch plans to acquire 100% of the joint venture between Johnson Controls and Hitachi, including Hitachi’s 40% stake. The sale is slated to be completed within approximately 12 months contingent on regulatory approval.

Page last updated: 12/26/2024

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