HVAC

3 Common Challenges You May Encounter During Your HVAC Technician Career

April 19, 2022

For an aspiring technician looking to work in the HVAC industry, it’s important to know the common issues your customers may encounter that’ll require your expertise in repairing and resolving those issues. HVAC challenges can sometimes have simple solutions when it comes to repairs, but if not handled immediately and properly, they can cause further damages as well as more time and money to fix.

At NATS, you’ll gain hands-on training through our HVAC pre-apprenticeship program. You’ll learn how to install and maintain gas and propane heating systems, as well as ventilation and air cooling equipment for both residential and commercial environments. Your training will prove to be valuable to customers as you work on resolving common HVAC challenges.

Read on to find out the three common challenges you’ll face in your career!

1. As an HVAC Technician, You May Encounter Pilot or Ignition Issues

One of the common HVAC challenges you’ll encounter might have to do with the gas furnace’s pilot or ignition unit. When this issue is present, it prevents the furnace from dispersing any sort of heat around a unit or home, which can be a big problem in extreme cold weather conditions. 

Ignition problems for the furnace can be caused by dirty pilots or flame sensors. As a professional HVAC technician, you’ll have to examine these furnace components, as their malfunctioning can cause short-cycling, a pilot outage, delayed ignition of the furnace burners or an entire furnace lockout. You’ll have to assess whether the furnace components have experienced wear and tear over time and need replacement, or whether the issue is related to a gas supply problem. 

A common challenge you’ll encounter is problems with a furnace’s pilot and ignition components

2. Dirty Filters Are Most Common

After you complete your training from an HVAC school, you may get a call from customers regarding poor airflow circulation around their homes or offices. This is most likely related to dirty air filters. Dirty air filters are the most common HVAC challenges you’ll face during your career. However, they’re fairly simple to handle and resolve. 

A dirty filter will reduce the lifespan of a customer’s furnace because it places more pressure on the furnace to circulate air. It can also cause it to repeatedly overheat and shut off. You’ll have to replace the dirty filter with a new recommended filter based on its Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) rating. The higher the MERV rating of the filter, the better it is for air quality. 

As an HVAC Technician, you’ll probably have to replace dirty filters

2. Wear and Tear of Heating System Components

Another common HVAC challenge you may come across during your career is complaints about the heating system’s ability to generate heat for an entire office or home. This can be the result of the wear and tear of some components in the heating system. You’ll have to check the heating system for the condition of its bearing and belts. You’ll probably have to check if the belts are stretched or worn out, and if they require replacing. Additionally, the heating system’s motors and bearings might not be well lubricated, and in that case, you’ll have to oil them to allow them to run smoothly. 

Are you interested in HVAC technician courses?

Contact NATS for more information about our training programs!

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