What Are the Most Important Skills You’ll Learn in HVAC Training?
You learn many important skills in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning training that can help you build a career. From the basic science of electrical and HVAC systems to detailed instruction on how to cut and weld pipes, install circuitry, and wire thermostats, you gain knowledge and hands-on experience. Are you thinking about an HVAC career? Find training that will teach you the skills you need:
Learn About HVAC Systems
There are several kinds of HVAC systems you need to be familiar with to maintain, service, troubleshoot, and repair them as an HVAC Technician. Your program should teach you the basics of gas and oil heating systems, boiler, chiller, and cooling towers, heat pumps, and refrigeration systems. You need to understand a wide range of concepts and systems to work in HVAC including circuits, fuels, refrigerants, combustion systems, compressors, condensers, evaporators, thermostats, electronic modules and boards, and ignition approaches.
Work on Electrical Systems
HVAC systems run on electricity. When you install an HVAC system, you also need to install the proper wiring so the system can turn on and shut off. In your HVAC training courses, you learn how an HVAC electrical system works. You observe the different types, sizes, and colors of the wires and learn to label them properly. You also practice wiring thermostats and installing circuits, which provide a path for the electricity to travel through.
Read Blueprints
Whether you install HVAC systems in newly constructed or existing buildings, you need to know how to read blueprints. Without this knowledge base, you won’t know where to install the system and its ductwork. In your training, you learn about building specs and design and common construction processes. You learn to identify the symbols and codes that stand for various HVAC parts and how to mimic the detailed layout drawn up in the set of blueprints.
Cut and Weld HVAC Pipes
HVAC systems require pipes to circulate and drain fluids. In HVAC training, you learn about the types of pipes used in an HVAC system and how they fit together. In the workshop, you learn to cut and weld pipes, and to identify cracks or other problems that could affect the HVAC system.
Solve Technical HVAC Problems
Sometimes being an HVAC technician requires you to put a detective hat on. A client might hear a funny rattling noise coming from their AC, or they might not feel much air coming through a vent but not know the cause of the problem. In these situations, it’s up to you to identify the problem and find a solution. This requires problem-solving skills, which you can develop in class through your lab work and classroom case studies.
Practice HVAC Professionalism
Although the HVAC job requires more of your hands than your voice, you still should know how to communicate with clients and co-workers. Throughout your training, you learn to be professional and to collaborate with co-workers to make the job flow more smoothly. You also learn to break down technical terms for your customers, clearly explain the problem and proposed solution to them, and to answer their questions patiently and in language they can understand.
Provide HVAC Customer Service
In the real world, how you treat your customers is often just as important as your knowledge of HVAC systems. Without a good sense of customer service, your clients can pick a competitor instead of coming back to you for their next service call. During your training, your instructors will teach you how to interact with customers in a way that’s patient, friendly, and understanding.
Abide by HVAC Safety Protocols
Safety is critical when you work with hand tools, welding torches, and electrical systems. One of the most important parts of your HVAC training will be proper safety protocol required in the HVAC industry. You learn how to dress and protect your body when working with extreme heat or electricity. You also learn how to handle chemicals and refrigerant, how to lift heavy equipment correctly, and how to safely perform your job during inclement weather.
Are you ready to hone all of these skills and more? Charter College offers a Certificate in HVAC/R that can prepare you for entry-level work in the field. Our instructors have years of HVAC experience and they’re ready to pass their knowledge on to you. The program can also be completed in as few as 10 months and is offered in blended learning format. Call 888-200-9942 or fill out the form to learn more.