HVAC Training: Virginia Beach is a Great Place to Learn!

The average summer temperature in Virginia Beach, says U.S. Climate Data, is around 86°F. Most people prefer indoor temperatures of around 76°F. Getting indoor temperatures down by 10°F is the job of qualified heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) technicians. HVAC is a skill best learned in an environment that offers all the variables, such as hot days, cold winters, and high humidity. This makes Virginia Beach an ideal place to gain the special skills needed to work in HVAC.

Virginia Beach and HVAC

Virginia Beach has had a special relationship with the HVAC industry almost since the invention of air conditioning, in 1902. With hot, humid summer days, exposure to sea salt, and cold, wet winters, this area puts HVAC equipment — and technicians — to the test. Unlike New England states with months of pounding winter gales, or semi-tropical Florida with months of relentless heat, Virginia Beach is right in the middle of it all, according to Weather-US:

  • High average humidity — August sees 75.2% average relative humidity
  • Rainfall — Virginia Beach enjoys nearly 15 inches of rain from June through August
  • Cold — January is Virginia Beach’s coldest month, with average lows of only 32.7°F
  • Snow — You may not think Virginia Beach gets snow, but Weather-US points to 5.6 inches average annual snowfall

Think of what a good HVAC system does for any home or business. It rids indoor air of excess moisture. It heats or cools the air for comfort. It filters and cleans the air for easy, safe breathing. It deals with the heat, the moisture, and the cold that Virginia Beach throws at it.

Learning HVAC

To be truly masterful in central air conditioning, furnace work, ventilation and filtration of indoor air, an HVAC technician needs to experience all the kinds of weather that tax the abilities of an HVAC system.

It is not enough to work in, say, Vermont and keep forced hot air furnaces working. It is not enough to toil in Tampa, Florida fixing AC unit after AC unit. You need to know what to do with every combination of weather conditions:

  1. Cold, moist air
  2. Hot, dry air
  3. Cold, dry air
  4. Hot, moist air

Just about the most miserable climate comfort condition people will feel is excess humidity in a too-hot house or business. That, really, is a great test of an HVAC technician’s ability to diagnose a dysfunctional central air conditioner and air handler. Though often an issue with the inside evaporative coil, it could also be a problem with the outside condenser.

At the other extreme is the cold, dry house that just hurts your bones when you move around. An HVAC contractor needs to know how to fix that home’s furnace, whether it is a cracked heat exchanger or a problem with the whole-house humidifier.

By studying HVAC in the Virginia Beach area, you can get a little taste of just about every kind of weather and adverse condition the HVAC equipment will face. Add to that our own local twist, the sea salt in our air. Corrosion is an additional challenge testing the mettle of any HVAC technician as it affects the metal of countless HVAC parts.

Meeting the Challenge

HVAC contracting work is a great blend of science, technology, customer relations and marketing. You need to understand science concepts like relative humidity, wet and dry bulb temperature, the ideal gas law, and more. You need to know how practical climate control equipment works, and the differences between all the components:

  • Central air conditioner
  • Ductless mini-split systems
  • Furnace
  • Ductwork
  • Hydronic baseboard heat
  • Heat pump
  • Air handler
  • Thermostat
  • Deep media filters
  • Humidifiers
  • Dehumidifiers

In addition to all that, a good HVAC technician also knows how to get along with all manner of customers. Imagine how cranky a homeowner gets when cooped up in a home that is 86°F all day, waiting for your arrival. You need to maintain professionalism, cool off the client, and still solve the AC problem.

Strong Foundations

Virginia Beach’s stately homes and modern marvels all rest on strong foundations, just as your career should. When you get a thorough, formal education in HVAC, you should have the foundation you need to enter and thrive in a demanding, highly valued profession.

HVAC technicians are lifelong learners, generally earning good pay, but the journey begins with core classes in the fundamentals of HVAC systems, with solid instruction from knowledgeable instructors.

Learn a Skill

The best place in Virginia Beach to learn the highly valued skill of HVAC work is Advanced Training Institute. At ATI you could earn your Associate in Occupational Science (A.O.S.) degree in Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Technology in as little as 75 weeks. Contact ATI today to learn how Virginia Beach is the ideal learning laboratory for this challenging, ever-changing career.

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