7. Accrued Warranty Costs

Our Climate Control Business sells equipment that has an expected life, under normal circumstances and use, which extends over several years. As such, we provide warranties after equipment shipment/start-up covering defects in materials and workmanship. Generally for commercial/institutional products, the base warranty coverage for most of the manufactured equipment in the Climate Control Business is limited to eighteen months from the date of shipment or twelve months from the date of start-up, whichever is shorter, and to ninety days for spare parts. For residential products, the base warranty coverage for manufactured equipment in the Climate Control Business is limited to ten years from the date of shipment for material and to five years from the date of shipment for labor associated with the repair. The warranty provides that most equipment is required to be returned to the factory or an authorized representative and the warranty is limited to the repair and replacement of the defective product, with a maximum warranty of the refund of the purchase price. Furthermore, companies within the Climate Control Business generally disclaim and exclude warranties related to merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose and disclaim and exclude any liability for consequential or incidental damages. In some cases, the customer may purchase, or a specific product may be sold with, an extended warranty. The above discussion is generally applicable to such extended warranties, but variations do occur depending upon specific contractual obligations, certain system components, and local laws.

Changes in our product warranty obligation (accrued warranty costs) are as follows:


	2014			2013			2012
	(In Thousands)
Balance at beginning of year	$	7,297		$	6,172		$	5,370
Amounts charged to SG&A		7,923			7,388			6,710
Costs incurred		(6,403	)		(6,263	)		(5,908	)

Balance at end of year	$	8,817		$	7,297		$	6,172