Air Conditioner / Heat Pump Technician Licensing

This names the three principal areas of certification for air conditioner or heat pump repair technicians and includes a list of useful education, training, and certification references & sources.

Page top image & air conditioning schematic drawing below were provided courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, education & report writing tool company [ carsondunlop.com ].

HVAC Service Technician Licensing

Heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers are required to be licensed by some States and localities. Requirements for licensure vary greatly, but all States or localities that require a license have a test that must be passed.

The contents of these tests vary by State or locality, with some requiring extensive knowledge of electrical codes and others focusing more on HVACR-specific knowledge. Completion of an apprenticeship program or 2 to 5 years of experience are also common requirements.

Our photo shows an HVAC repair technician disassembling and cleaning a wall convector unit in a New York City apartment.

In addition, all technicians who purchase or work with refrigerants must be certified in their proper handling. To become certified to purchase and handle refrigerants, technicians must pass a written examination specific to the type of work in which they specialize.

The three possible areas of certification are:

Type I—servicing small appliances;

Type II—high-pressure refrigerants; and

Type III—low-pressure refrigerants. Exams are administered by organizations approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, such as trade schools, unions, contractor associations, or building groups.

Useful Resources for HVAC Air Conditioner Heat Pump Technician Education & Licensing

• DESIGN GUIDE for HEATING, VENTILATING, and AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS [PDF] (2006) U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Denver, Colorado, retrieved 2021/12/27 original source: https://www.usbr.gov/tsc/techreferences/mands/mands-pdfs/HVACManl.pdf
• [1] "Air Conditioning & Refrigeration I & II", BOCES Education, Warren Hilliard (instructor), Poughkeepsie, New York, May - July 1982, [classroom notes from air conditioning and refrigeration maintenance and repair course attended by the website author]
• [8] Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/heating-air-conditioning-and-refrigeration-mechanics-and-installers.htm (visited June 15, 2022).
• [8a] Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014-15 Edition, Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/heating-air-conditioning-and-refrigeration-mechanics-and-installers.htm (visited February 05, 2014).
• [9] HVAC Education, Training Accreditation agencies: Quoting the U.S. DOL HVAC website above:
  After completing the programs below, new technicians generally need between 6 months to 2 years of field experience before they are considered proficient. Three accrediting agencies have set academic standards for HVACR programs:
  • [10] HVAC Excellence. 1701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20006 Tel: (800) 394-5268. Web: https://www.escogroup.org/hvac/
    Excerpt:
    
    HVAC Excellence is a not for profit organization that has been serving the HVACR industry since 1994. It is our goal to improve competency through validation of the technical education process. By setting standards and verifying that they have been met, we inspire the industry to excel.
    
    We know that all of the challenges that face our industry are achievable by continuous improvement in the way that we prepare technicians.
  • [11] National Center for Construction Education and Research, 3600 NW 43rd Street, Bldg. G, Gainesville, FL 32606, Tel: 888.622.3720, Web: http://www.nccer.org/
    
    Quoting:
    NCCER is a not-for-profit education foundation created to develop industry-driven standardized craft training programs with portable credentials and help address the critical workforce shortage facing the construction industry.
  • [12] The Partnership for Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Accreditation, (PAHRA), 2111 Wilson Blvd., Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22201-3001, USA, Tel: (703) 524-8800, Web: http://www.pahrahvacr.org/
    
    Quoting:
    The Partnership for Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration Accreditation (PAHRA) is an independent, third party organization that is a partnership between heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) educators and the HVACR industry that will award accreditation to programs that have met and/or exceeded industry validated standards. This programmatic accreditation program is the only one that is supported by the major industry associations.
• [13] HVAC Training Courses, Schools: HVAC Technician Training Schools [http://technicianschool.net/hvac-technician-training-schools/], lists the following schools offering technical courses may offer specific training programs for potential careers, including HVAC technicians. Among HVAC schools that website lists are
  • Everest Colleges [http://www.everest.edu],
  • Florida Career College 7891 Pines Blvd Hollywood, FL 33024 http:// www.careercollege.edu/,
  • Lincoln Institute 2299 Vauxhall Road Union, NJ 07083 http:// www.lincolnedu.com/
  • NOTE: when considering an HVAC training course or school, check the HVAC education accrediting associations listed above.
• [14] Ratib Bakera is member of Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES), an International training organization for the HVACR industry provides educational and certification programs to HVACR professionals of all experience levels. Web: www.rses.org , provides information on the organization and its training materials. Independent testing and certification of HVAC technicians is provided by North American Technician Excellence - NATE - see www.natex.org. NATE is supported by ASHRAE, the US EPA, and a host of other trade and professional associations.
• [23] Air Diffusion Council, 1901 N. Roselle Road, Suite 800, Schaumburg, Illinois 60195, Tel: (847) 706-6750, Fax: (847) 706-6751 - Email: info@flexibleduct.org - www.flexibleduct.org/ -
  
  "The ADC has produced the 4th Edition of the Flexible Duct Performance & Installation Standards (a 28-page manual) for use and reference by designers, architects, engineers, contractors, installers and users for evaluating, selecting, specifying and properly installing flexible duct in heating and air conditioning systems.
  
  Features covered in depth include: descriptions of typical styles, characteristics and requirements, testing, listing, reporting, certifying, packaging and product marking.
  Guidelines for proper installation are treated and illustrated in depth, featuring connections, splices and proper support methods for flexible duct.
  
  A single and uniform method of making end connections and splices is graphically presented for both non-metallic and metallic with plain ends."
  The printed manual is available in English only. Downloadable PDF is available in English and Spanish.
• [33] Histoire de l'Académie royale des sciences avec les mémoires de mathématique et de physique tirés des registres de cette Académie: 363–376. Retrieved 2009-06-19.- Pitot Tubes, Henri Pitot (1732)
• [34] Wikipedia Web: https://www.wikipedia.org/ p
• [38] N Lu, YL Xie, Z Huang, "Air Conditioner Compressor Performance Model", U.S. Department of Energy, August 2008, [copy on file as PNNL-17796.pdf] Available to the public from the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22161 ph: (800) 553-6847, fax: (703) 605-6900 email: orders@ntis.fedworld.gov online ordering: http://www.ntis.gov/ordering.htm
• [39] Yinger R, R Bravo, and D Martinez. 2006 Air Conditioner Stalling Effects Study/Air Conditioner Testing Procedures. Southern California Edison, Rosemead, California
• [41] Lu N, B Yang and Z Huang. 2008a. Evaluation of Southern California Edison Air-Conditioner Stalling Solutions. PNNL-17686, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington.
• [43] Thanks to Alexis Claro alexis.hvaced@gmail.com who maintains a website offering information about HVAC training found at hvaced.com/hvac-training .
• Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, A. D. Althouse, C.H. Turnquist, A. Bracciano, Goodheart-Willcox Co., 1982
• Principles of Refrigeration, R. Warren Marsh, C. Thomas Olivo, Delmar Publishers, 1979
• Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology, 5th Ed., William C. Whitman, William M. Johnson, John Tomczyk, Cengage Learning, 2005, ISBN 1401837654, 9781401837655 1324 pages
  

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