Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers

Install or repair heating, central air conditioning, HVAC, or refrigeration systems, including oil burners, hot-air furnaces, and heating stoves.

Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Realistic

Second Interest High-Point

Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Investigative

Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Conventional

Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Enterprising

Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Artistic

Third Interest High-Point

Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Social

First Interest High-Point

Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

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.

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.

4-wire resistance sensors

Acetylene torches

Adjustable wrenches

Air flow sensors

Alternating current AC line splitters

Ammeters

Autoranging meters

Awls

Bead type thermocouples

Bourdon tubes

Box cutters

Brazing equipment

Capacitor analyzers

Carbon dioxide CO2 testers

Carbon monoxide detectors

Caulking equipment

Chart recorders

Circuit analyzers

Circuit tracers

Circular saws

Claw hammers

Combustible gas leak detectors

Combustion analyzers

Contaminant content tests

Dataloggers

Desktop computers

Diagonal cutting pliers

Differential pressure detectors

Drill presses

Duct knives

Duct slicers

Duct vacuums

Flared tip screwdrivers

Flaring tools

Groove pliers

Hammers

Hand hacksaws

Hand seamers

Handheld thermometers

Hex wrenches

High-voltage probes

Hoists

Hot wire anemometers

Humidity sensors

Infrared thermometers

Inspection mirrors

Ladders

Laser printers

Levels

Long nose pliers

Magnetic pickup tools

Manometers

Megohmmeters

Milliohm meters

Moisture meters

Non-contact surface temperature heads

Nut drivers

Oil guns

Oxygen testers

Personal computers

pH meters

Pipe benders

Pipe cutters

Pipe reamers

Pipe threaders

Pipe wrenches

Pitot tubes

Portable drills

Power grinders

Receptacle testers

Reclaiming equipment

Refrigerant leak detectors

Refrigerant vacuum pumps

Resistance temperature detectors

Revolutions per minute RPM meters

Riggings

Safety glasses

Scaffolding

Sheet metal crimpers

Side cutting pliers

Slings

Smoke detector canisters

Smoke pens

Soldering equipment

Staging equipment

Strap wrenches

Swaging tools

Temperature/humidity testers

Tongs

Tubing benders

Two way radios

Utility knives

Vacuum gauges

Venturi meters

Water level meters

Water testers

Watt transducers

Welding hoods

Wet bulb/dew point meters

Wire cutters

Find the right tech school and work along someone in the business that you want to work in.

Learning how to save money for the slow times.

Repairing air conditioners and heaters and installing new systems.

Darryl Lawrence

Owner Center A / C & Heating

Education

Career

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Entrepreneurship

Technology

Working Independently

Day to Day

Advice for Getting Started

Recommended Education

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Friends:

Challenges I Overcame

Financial

Darryl Lawrence

Owner Center A / C & Heating

Education

Career

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Entrepreneurship

Technology

Working Independently

Day to Day

Advice for Getting Started

Recommended Education

My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Friends:

Challenges I Overcame

Related Leaders