How to Become a Certified HVAC Technician?

The HVAC industry will be valued at around $367.5 billion in 2030. The demand in the HVAC industry is growing at a CAGR of 6.3%.

HVAC technicians handle the real groundwork, helping the industry tackle the rising demand and ensuring that the customers get the best HVAC services.

Different individuals are looking to explore the option of HVAC independent contractors but are unaware of the detailed aspects of how to become an HVAC technician.

Are you encountering the same situation?

Don’t worry.

Here’s what you need to know.

Get an idea on how to become a certified HVAC technician.

1. Understanding the Industry

2. Getting a High School Degree or Equivalent

3. HVAC Training Program

4. Enrolling in HVAC Apprenticeship and Experience

5. Acquire Industry Certifications and State Licenses

6. Keep Learning

1. Understanding the Industry

Becoming a certified HVAC technician requires you to understand the overall industry and filter out the specialized niche you want to select. You can also go through the basic details about the HVAC technicians and the advantages and disadvantages of working as a certified HVAC technician.

The research work can help you paint a crystal clear picture of the pros and cons of becoming a certified HVAC technician and enable you to pursue further with a clear mind.

It can also minimize future hassles and ensure that you pursue your passion of becoming an HVAC technician with finesse.

2. Getting a High School Degree or Equivalent

The initial step to becoming a certified HVAC technician is to get a high school degree or diploma. You can get a start on your HVAC education by selecting math, physics, and vocational education coursework.

You can also complete the high school shop course in basic plumbing, electronics, or electrical work to ensure that your HVAC basics are clear and you can work in the real world with your learning.

A high school diploma sets a strong foundation for your HVAC technician career and helps you stand out. You can also opt for a high school degree alternative, i.e., getting a GED for up to $150.

HVAC professionals also enroll in community colleges, vocational schools, technical institutes, or other HVAC programs.

3. HVAC Training Program

A professional HVAC training program is great for improving your technical skills and getting solid HVAC industry credibility by availing a college degree or a certificate.

You must choose the subjects covered during the training, time commitment, and program costs to ensure that you avail of the best training.

Type of Program	Duration (approx.)	Cost
Certificate or Diploma Program	6 Months	Around $1200
Professional Degree	2 Years	Average $7500

You can also opt for bachelor’s degree programs for HVAC training, which can be an expensive and less common option among HVAC technicians in the industry.

The foundation of your HVAC training should include

• Studies around commercial and residential HVAC systems.
• Understanding of tools like calibration instruments.
• Learning about HVAC controls, like air quality, voltage, and resistance.

The training can help you remove the doubts and ensure you have the right knowledge and thinking approach to solving different HVAC issues.

4. Enrolling in HVAC Apprenticeship and Experience

Completing post-secondary education and HVAC apprenticeships or an internship can help you gain the knowledge and experience to deliver great HVAC technician work results.

The apprenticeship can go on for three to four years and involves on-the-job training to strengthen your credibility during the job interview.

Some apprenticeship or internship programs also provide stipends that enable you to earn a decent amount. The apprenticeships improve your different skill sets, like learning safety practices, becoming industry savvy in blueprint reading, and understanding tool applications.

5. Acquire Industry Certifications and State Licenses

Different states have different license and technician certification requirements for HVAC professionals to be eligible to work and deliver quality client results.

You need to check with your state governing authorities and consult with the officials to understand the basic requirements and hvac technician job description.

Working at a large scale requires a technician certification and an HVAC license check, so you can’t escape the certificate procurement process. North American Technician Excellence (NATE) and Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES) are the leading industry-standard certifying agencies where you can apply for the required HVAC certification.

Once you get the required pass certificates of training or apprenticeship programs, licenses for successful HVAC technicians, or technical skills needed to deliver quality results, you can handle projects of different scales and complexities.

6. Keep Learning

Getting an HVAC certificate and becoming a certified HVAC journeyman doesn’t guarantee you success in the industry. You must stand out from other HVAC technicians, air conditioning contractors, or businesses.

Focus on developing your skill sets and upgrading your experience in the industry. You can apply for additional HVAC courses to boost your earnings and become a renowned specialist in the HVAC industry.

 You can try out certification programs like

• Unit ventilators
• Residential boilers
• Commercial furnaces
• Heat pump pool heaters

The higher your learning and knowledge bandwidth, the more HVAC requests you can attract and boost the flow of income.

Using this learning, an HVAC technician can earn a decent salary for different HVAC technician jobs.

What Does an HVAC Technician Do?

Here are the detail about what is an hvac contractor and its roles:

• Testing

  Professional HVAC technicians test different units, components, and circuits that ensure smooth installation and repair work at the residential or commercial job site.

  The testing aspect involves using different professional HVAC testing tools and lowering the effort and time to deliver precise and accurate results.

• Installation

  HVAC technicians know how to install climate control, heating and air conditioning, and refrigeration systems. Based on the customer’s requirements, the technicians can plan the installation process and deliver the desired results within a minimal time.

  HVAC system installation includes taking measurements and inspecting the existing system to install the HVAC system with finesse. Residential HVAC services take less effort, time, and complexity than commercial projects.

  A professional HVAC technician’s work involves thoroughly checking the de-installation of the pre-installed HVAC system, proper system size, and capacity inspection.

• Maintenance and servicing

  The expert HVAC contractor provides maintenance services and in-depth inspections that focus on analyzing pipes for testing thermostats, refilling refrigerant, inspecting motors and fans, leakage, testing electric circuits, and cleaning air ducts to boost the efficiency of the HVAC system.

  

  The routine maintenance work performed by the HVAC techs includes changing HVAC air filters for HVAC systems and handling doubts and queries to ensure an excellent customer experience.

• Troubleshooting and repair work

  The certified HVAC technicians can troubleshoot different HVAC system components to analyze the areas for improvement and faults. It can help deliver a quality client experience and ensure everything works properly.

• Sales

  A certified HVAC contractor has experience selling different HVAC products and services during the job site inspection that can boost the overall project requirements and scale the revenues.

  Decent sales skills and good communication can boost your profits after the service job completion and make the clients aware of the problem they weren’t aware of.

  The upselling can also help to showcase the HVAC technicians’ credibility and improve the quality of customer experience.

  When your business is scaling up due to an increase in sales, you must also manage other business operations simultaneously. But hey, what if someone helps you share the burden?

That’s not it.
Let’s understand the benefits of becoming a certified HVAC technician.

Benefits of Becoming a Certified HVAC Technician

Getting a professional certification can be great for an HVAC technician and help you deliver quality results in repairing HVAC systems and other air conditioning systems, using HVAC technology, and achieving HVAC excellence.

• Increased income

  According to The BLS or Bureau of Labor Statistics, HVAC professionals earn a competitive  average salary for different positions. The job position that requires two years of post-secondary training or HVAC programs gets the highest salary packages.

  There are 356,960 HVAC professional mechanics and installers in the country, and the average HVAC technician’s salaries range between $50,000 – $55,000 annually.

  With the experience and certificate programs, you can increase your income and become a successful HVAC technician.

• Great quality work

  

  The experience gained from an accredited HVAC program or training program, associate’s degree, or bachelor’s degree program can help you improve the quality of HVAC results. It can serve the clients well and ensure that you stand out.

• Improved HVAC career paths

  Being a certified HVAC technician can help you strengthen your career path and become a professional manager, team lead, or HVAC efficiency analyst. You can start an HVAC business and hire different certified HVAC professionals to manage your own HVAC business. 

  Once you increase your clientele in your HVAC service business, you will have a varied range of clients’ databases to maintain and, hence tracking all of them at one place can be quite demanding.

  A leading estimating and invoicing software for HVAC contractors like InvocieOwl can help you maintain all the essential client data in one place.

What are Your Final Takeaways?

After acquiring the complete information on how to become a certified HVAC technician, and witnessing the pros of being a certified HVAC, now it’s the time to implement the process and see the magic.

This magic, of becoming a certified HVAC technician will get reflected in various ways. For instance, increasing lead generation, and credibility rising in the market, as the customers find it safe and secure when you are certified.

Wanna know what still can flourish your already scaling HVAC business? A digitized estimating & invoicing process.

InvoiceOwl is the leading estimate and invoice software for HVAC businesses and contractors to streamline estimates and invoices to ensure a steady cash flow.