Sign In  |  View Cart  |    |  Help  |  
Print Course information
E-mail to a friend
Return to Course Catalog

Course Catalog > Career Certifications > Construction and Trades > - Trades

HVAC/R Technician (Voucher Included)   

This course will train you to service, maintain, and troubleshoot complex heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems. You will gain the necessary situational knowledge and technical skills to prepare you for an entry-level role in the HVAC/R field.



Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

  • This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.
  • Optional simulations require a 64-bit operating system

Software Requirements:

  • PC: Windows 8 or later.
  • Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
  • Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
  • Microsoft Word Online
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  • Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

  • Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

*Optional simulations are not screen reader or keyboard accessible. Simulation activities are not meant to be experienced on mobile devices. Personal computers should be used for these activities.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment. The following textbooks will be shipped to you approximately 7-10 business days after enrollment:

  • Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Technology, by Silberstein, Obrzut, Tomczyk, Whitman, and Johnson.

The following material will be available online:

  • Refrigeration & Air Conditioning TechnologyPDF
  • EPA Section 608 Preparatory Manual - Optional Resource

Please note: You will receive a digital book if the physical book is on backorder.


This online HVAC/R training course will prepare you for an entry-level career in the HVAC/R industry by providing hands-on guidance for service, repair, and solutions.

During this HVAC/R certification program, you will learn from in-depth materials to understand HVAC/R service and repair, environmental challenges and solutions, and service call simulations that bring concepts to life.

From safety, tools, and equipment best practices to commercial and residential appliance fundamentals—this HVAC/R technician course is designed to help you succeed in your new career. You will thoroughly understand key HVAC/R topics, including heat, temperature and pressure, refrigeration and refrigerants, safety practices, tools and equipment, leak detection, system evacuation, refrigeration oil management, system charging, automatic controls, electric motors, and much more. Reinforce your learning by engaging in over 200 course simulations and challenges to test your knowledge and skills.

This HVAC/R technician course also emphasizes the importance of soft skills such as communication, decision-making, time management, problem-solving, and accepting responsibility.

At the completion of your HVAC/R training, you will be ready to pass all 17 HVAC Excellence Employment Ready Certificates, the EPA 608, and the NATE Ready to Work Certificate. A voucher package is included with your HVAC/R certification enrollment, which includes the HVAC Excellence Employment Ready Certificate exam and the EPA 608 Certification exam. Please research your state's requirements prior to enrollment to ensure this HVAC technician course is the right fit for you.

HVAC/R Certification Exams

This HVAC/R certified technician program will provide the necessary information to pass the following entry-level certificate exams:

  • HVAC Excellence ESCO Group: 17 Employment Ready Certificates
  • NATE: Ready to Work Certificate
  • EPA 608: Section 608 Universal Technician Certification

Upon completion of this HVAC/R training, you will also receive a voucher package for the HVAC Excellence Employment Ready Certificate exam* that includes:

  • 1 Employment Ready Certificate for Electrical
  • 1 Employment Ready Certificate for Air Conditioning
  • 1 EPA 608 Voucher

*Proctor fees may apply


  1. Introduction
    1. Heat, Temperature, and Pressure
    2. Matter and Energy
    3. Refrigeration and Refrigerants
  2. Safety, Tools and Equipment, and Shop Practices
    1. General Safety Practices
    2. Tools and Equipment
    3. Fasteners
    4. Tubing and Piping
    5. Leak Detection, System Evacuation, and System Cleanup
    6. Refrigeration and Oil Chemistry and Management – Recovery, Recycling, and Reclaiming, and Retrofitting
    7. System Charging
    8. Calibrating Instruments
    9. Simulation: Safety Quiz
    10. Simulation: Soft Skills Quiz
  3. Automatic Controls
    1. Basic Electricity and Magnetism
    2. Introduction to Automatic Controls
    3. Automatic Control Components and Applications
    4. Troubleshooting Basic Controls
    5. Advanced Automatic Controls-Direct Digital Controls (DDCs) and Pneumatics
  4. Electric Motors
    1. Types of Electric Motors
    2. Application of Motors
    3. Motor Controls
    4. Troubleshooting Electric Motors
  5. Commercial Refrigeration, Part 1
    1. Evaporators and the Refrigeration System
    2. Condensers
    3. Compressors
  6. Commercial Refrigeration, Part 2
    1. Expansion Devices
    2. Special Refrigeration Systems
    3. Commercial Ice Machines
  7. Commercial Refrigeration, Part 3
    1. Special Refrigeration Applications
    2. Troubleshooting and Typical Operating Conditions for Commercial Refrigeration
  8. Air-Conditioning (Heating and Humidification)
    1. Electric Heat
    2. Gas Heat
    3. Oil Heat
    4. Hydronic Heat
    5. Indoor Air Quality
  9. Air-Conditioning (Cooling)
    1. Comfort and Psychometrics
    2. Refrigeration Applied to Air-Conditioning
    3. Air Distribution and Balance
    4. Installation
    5. Residential Energy Auditing
    6. Typical Conditions
    7. Troubleshooting
  10. All-Weather Systems
    1. Heat Gains and Heat Losses in Structures
    2. Air Source Heat Pumps
    3. Geothermal Heat Pumps
  11. Domestic Appliances
    1. Domestic Refrigerators and Freezers
    2. Room Air Conditioners
  12. Commercial Air-Conditioning and Chilled-Water Systems
    1. High-Pressure, Low-Pressure, and Absorption Chilled-Water Systems
    2. Cooling Towers and Pumps
    3. Operation, Maintenance, and Troubleshooting of Chilled-Water Air-Conditioning Systems
    4. Commercial, Packaged Rooftop, Variable Refrigerant Flow, and Variable Air Volume Systems
  13. Simulation Challenge Mode: HVAC
  14. Simulation Challenge Mode: Electricity for HVAC
  15. Soft Skills and the HVACR Technician
    1. Communication
    2. Decision-Making
    3. Time Management
    4. Problem Solving
    5. Accepting Responsibility

What you will learn

  • Watch our HVAC/R certified technician program video overview to see how real-world scenarios and simulations will be applied in your learnings
  • Explain the concepts of heat transfer, BTU, temperature, heat content, sensible heat, latent heat, pressure, gas laws, and work, and describe how they apply to air conditioning and refrigeration systems
  • Describe the four basic components that make up the vapor-compression refrigeration cycle
  • Identify the four major system components and explain their functions in the refrigeration system
  • Properly install an air-conditioning system and put it into operation
  • Troubleshoot mechanical and electrical problems in an air-conditioning and heat pump systems

How you will benefit

  • Become prepared to sit for the NATE Ready to Work Certificate exams
  • Become prepared to sit for the HVAC Excellence Employment Ready Certificate Exams
  • Become prepared to sit for the EPA 608 Refrigerant Handling Certification Exam
  • Use real-world simulations included in this program to get hands-on HVAC/R training
  • Discover soft skills simulations included in the course that will help sharpen your customer service skills
  • Attend exclusive annual virtual National Apprenticeship Week events featuring live webinars, workshops, and employer interactions

Mike Baker

Mike Baker has been an instructor since 2011. Previously, he was HVAC Program Director at both Virginia College and Vista College. Baker was a HVAC technician for several decades and has experience hiring, training, and managing HVAC Technicians. He holds numerous HVAC Excellence certifications, several Green Mechanical Council certifications, an EPA 608 Universal certification, and Emerson Climate Technology certifications. He has served as both an HVAC Excellence Instructor and Exam Proctor.

 
 

Some Title