The HVAC Blog

Becoming a refrigeration technician can seem like an insurmountable goal for those who are at the very beginning of the journey. With the right education, however, this stable and potentially lucrative career can be just around the corner.

Various apprenticeships and trade, technical, and degree programs offer training. Not surprisingly, completing an accredited HVAC program can make it easier to find lucrative employment, but paying for school can still be a challenge.

In today's energy-conscious world, installing and maintaining quality HVAC systems goes beyond mere comfort. It is crucial for safeguarding indoor air quality. While most people associate HVAC systems primarily with temperature control, a well-functioning system plays a pivotal role in filtering and circulating air, reducing exposure to pollutants and allergens.

While HVAC is a STEM-focused field, based on science and technology, the skills needed to become an expert HVAC professional can extend beyond the hard sciences. Many HVAC professionals need to be entrepreneurs, marketers, and even counselors to their clients, and not every HVAC program includes classes that adequately prepare students for those roles. However, they soon may.

An HVAC associate degree, such as those offered by the schools on this list, includes instruction in more than just the fundamentals of HVAC systems. An AAS degree requires courses in a range of topics, from communication to mathematics to liberal arts. This breadth of knowledge will be invaluable in a competitive job market.

Virtual reality (VR) is taking professional training to a new level. While some forms of VR have been successfully used for decades—flight simulators, for example, are a long-standing and crucial training tool for new and aspiring pilots—the proliferation of handheld consumer VR devices, like the Oculus Rift, have brought VR into the mainstream. Today, VR is used for training in a number of professional fields: education, healthcare, retail, and, increasingly,...

Heating, venting, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC and HVAC/R) technicians and installers are in high demand in cities. Climate control is requisite for businesses, industries, institutions, and homeowners. It’s needed for comfort, preservation of food, and medical and research facilities. What are the top cities for HVAC professionals?

The title of HVAC project manager can mean different things depending on the hiring party. In most cases, an HVAC project manager is someone with experience in the HVAC field who oversees new projects for an HVAC construction company, or as a consultant for a contractor.

The United States needs more skilled tradespeople, particularly in the HVAC workforce. Part of the reason is demographics: as the Baby Boomers retire, there are fewer Millennials and Zoomers to replace them, and the number of skilled trade jobs continues to outpace the supply of qualified workers to fill them. But that shortage is compounded by a historical cultural push towards students getting traditional, four-year liberal arts bachelor’s degrees, few...

There has never been a better time to seek out training as an HVAC technician. With the right skills to repair and install heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning along with refrigeration systems, it can be a truly rewarding career path that is only growing in demand. Consider pursuing an HVAC degree from one of these top programs in order to immerse yourself in HVAC study and enrich your understanding of...