How to become a Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer 2024

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer Install or repair heating, central air conditioning, HVAC, or refrigeration systems, including oil burners, hot-air furnaces, and heating stoves.

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer is Also Know as

In different settings, Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer is titled as

A/C Tech (Air Conditioning Technician)
HVAC Installer (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Installer)
HVAC Mechanic (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Mechanic)
HVAC Service Tech (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Service Technician)
HVAC Specialist (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Specialist)
HVAC Tech (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Technician)
Refrigeration Mechanic
Refrigeration Operator
Refrigeration Technician (Refrigeration Tech)
Service Technician (Service Tech)

Education and Training of Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer is categorized in Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Education Required for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Degrees Related to Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer

Training Required for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer in different industries are

What Do Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer do?

Test electrical circuits or components for continuity, using electrical test equipment.
Repair or replace defective equipment, components, or wiring.
Discuss heating or cooling system malfunctions with users to isolate problems or to verify that repairs corrected malfunctions.
Connect heating or air conditioning equipment to fuel, water, or refrigerant source to form complete circuit.
Install, connect, or adjust thermostats, humidistats, or timers.
Comply with all applicable standards, policies, or procedures, such as safety procedures or the maintenance of a clean work area.
Study blueprints, design specifications, or manufacturers' recommendations to ascertain the configuration of heating or cooling equipment components and to ensure the proper installation of components.
Install auxiliary components to heating or cooling equipment, such as expansion or discharge valves, air ducts, pipes, blowers, dampers, flues, or stokers.
Braze or solder parts to repair defective joints and leaks.
Lay out and connect electrical wiring between controls and equipment, according to wiring diagrams, using electrician's hand tools.
Inspect and test systems to verify system compliance with plans and specifications or to detect and locate malfunctions.
Record and report time, materials, faults, deficiencies, or other unusual occurrences on work orders.
Perform mechanical overhauls and refrigerant reclaiming.
Adjust system controls to settings recommended by manufacturer to balance system.
Install expansion and control valves, using acetylene torches and wrenches.
Install dehumidifiers or related equipment for spaces that require cool, dry air to operate efficiently, such as computer rooms.
Recommend, develop, or perform preventive or general maintenance procedures, such as cleaning, power-washing, or vacuuming equipment, oiling parts, or changing filters.
Cut or drill holes in floors, walls, or roof to install equipment, using power saws or drills.
Mount compressor, condenser, and other components in specified locations on frames, using hand tools and acetylene welding equipment.
Measure, cut, thread, or bend pipe or tubing, using pipe fitter's tools.
Keep records of repairs and replacements made and causes of malfunctions.
Install or repair air purification systems, such as specialized filters or ultraviolet (UV) light purification systems.
Estimate, order, pick up, deliver, and install materials and supplies needed to maintain equipment in good working condition.
Schedule work with customers and initiate work orders, house requisitions, and orders from stock.
Supervise and instruct assistants.
Lay out reference points for installation of structural and functional components, using measuring instruments.
Lift and align components into position, using hoist or block and tackle.
Install or repair self-contained ground source heat pumps or hybrid ground or air source heat pumps to minimize carbon-based energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions.
Repair or service heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to improve efficiency, such as by changing filters, cleaning ducts, and refilling non-toxic refrigerants.
Test pipes, lines, components, and connections for leaks.

Qualities of Good Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer

Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Tools Used by Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer

4-wire resistance sensors
Acetylene torches
Adjustable widemouth pliers
Adjustable wrenches
Air compressors
Air flow hoods
Air flow sensors
Air velocity meters
Air volume test equipment
Allen wrenches
Alternating current AC line splitters
Ammeters
Anemometers
Autoranging meters
Awls
Bandsaws
Bead type thermocouples
Belt tension indicators
Black lights
Bolt cutters
Bourdon tubes
Box cutters
Brazing equipment
Bubble levels
Calipers
Capacitance testers
Capacitor analyzers
Carbon dioxide CO2 testers
Carbon monoxide detectors
Carbon monoxide evaluators
Caulking equipment
Caulking guns
Chalk lines
Charging cylinders
Charging manifolds
Chart recorders
Circuit analyzers
Circuit tracers
Circular saws
Clamp-on multimeters
Claw hammers
Cold chisels
Combustible gas leak detectors
Combustion analyzers
Compound gauges
Computer diagnostic devices
Conduit benders
Contaminant content tests
Cordless drills
Crowbars
Current simulators
Dataloggers
Decibel meters
Desktop computers
Diagonal cutting pliers
Dial indicators
Differential pressure detectors
Draft gauges
Drill bit sets
Drill presses
Duct knives
Duct slicers
Duct vacuums
Duplex pressure gauges
Electric drills
Electrical current meters
Electrical frequency indicators
Fall arrest lines
Feeler gauges
Fin combs
Fish tapes
Flared tip screwdrivers
Flaring tools
Flowmeters
Forklifts
Gas pressure gauges
Glue guns
Grease guns
Groove pliers
Ground fault circuit interrupter GFCI testers
Hacksaws
Hammers
Hand drills
Hand hacksaws
Hand seamers
Hand sprayers
Hand trucks
Handheld thermometers
Heating ventilation and air-conditioning/refrigeration HVAC/R clamp meters
Hex wrenches
High-voltage probes
Hoists
Hold down clamps
Hole saws
Hot wire anemometers
Humidity sensors
Humidity simulators
Hygrosticks
Image scanners
Industrial vacuums
Infrared thermography cameras and display units
Infrared thermometers
Inspection mirrors
Insulation knives
Jacks
Jig saws
Knockout punches
Labeling machines
Ladders
Laptop computers
Laser levels
Laser printers
Levels
Litmus papers
Long nose pliers
Lug crimping tool dies
Magnehelic gauges
Magnetic pickup tools
Manometers
Material alignment jigs
Mechanical stethoscopes
Megohmmeters
Metal snips
Micrometers
Micron gauges
Milliammeters
Milliamp/microamp meters
Milliohm meters
Moisture meters
Multimeters
Non-contact surface temperature heads
Non-contact voltage detectors
Nut drivers
Ohmmeters
Oil guns
Open end wrenches
Oxygen testers
Personal computers
pH meters
Phase rotation meters
Phillips head screwdrivers
Pipe benders
Pipe clamp thermocouples
Pipe cutters
Pipe dies
Pipe reamers
Pipe threaders
Pipe wrenches
Pitot tubes
Platform lifts
Plotters
Pneumatic air gauges
Portable drills
Portable refractometers
Potentiometers
Power drills
Power grinders
Power hacksaws
Power saws
Power washers
Precision levels
Pressure gauges
Pressure simulators
Programmable logic controllers PLC
Psychrometers
Pullers
Punches
Reamers
Receptacle testers
Reciprocating saws
Reclaiming equipment
Recovery and recycle units
Refrigerant leak detectors
Refrigerant oil pumps
Refrigerant pressure meters
Refrigerant recovery machines
Refrigerant vacuum pumps
Resistance meters
Resistance temperature detectors
Respirators
Revolutions per minute RPM meters
Riggings
Rulers
Safety belts
Safety glasses
Safety goggles
Safety harnesses
Scaffolding
Scale rules
Scrapers
Screw extractor sets
Screwdrivers
Scribers
Service manifold sets
Shackles
Shears
Sheet metal crimpers
Side cutting pliers
Slings
Slotted screwdrivers
Smoke detector canisters
Smoke pens
Smoke testers
Socket wrench sets
Soft face hammers
Soldering equipment
Soldering guns
Soldering irons
Spectrometers
Squares
Staging equipment
Staging winches
Straightedges
Strap wrenches
Strobe tachometers
Swaging tools
Tachometers
Tap sets
Tape measures
Telescoping boom trucks
Temperature gauges
Temperature simulators
Temperature/humidity testers
Thermocouple testers
Thermocouples
Tin snips
Tinners hammers
Tongs
Torque wrenches
Transfer pumps
Transit levels
Tube cutters
Tubing benders
Turbine flow meters
Two way radios
Utility knives
Vacuum gauges
Vacuum pumps
Valve wrenches
Velometers
Venturi meters
Vernier calipers
Vibration analyis equipment
Volt-ohm meters VOM
Voltage simulators
Voltmeters
Water flow meters
Water level meters
Water levels
Water pressure gauges
Water temperature gauges
Water testers
Watt transducers
Wattmeters
Welding hoods
Wet bulb/dew point meters
Wire brushes
Wire cutters
Wire strippers

Technology Skills required for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer

Adobe Acrobat
Alerton Ascent Compass
Atlas Construction Business Forms
Autodesk AutoCAD
Building automation software
Computer aided design CAD software
Computerized maintenance management system CMMS
Contact management systems
Cworks CMMS
Data logging software
Database software
Delta Controls inteliWEB
Facility energy management software
Graphics software
Honeywell WEBs-N4
HVAC tools software
IBM Maximo Asset Management
IBM Notes
Internet browser software
Johnson Controls Metasys
ManagerPlus
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Exchange
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
SAP software
Siemens APOGEE Building Automation Software
Spreadsheet software

US Universities

How to become Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer in 2024