The ancient Romans had public baths fed by springs and heated beneath the floors by open spaces (hypocausts) with wood-fired furnaces (prafurniae). In large baths, these wood furnaces consumed entire forests of trees, since the Romans kept their baths open seven days a week. More than 2,100 years later, many of our homes use the same forced hot air method to warm us. Today’s technology, however, that Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) technicians encounter is hardly ancient. Innovations are changing the role of the HVAC technician.
Connecting to Change
HVAC systems and the technicians who service them are incorporating wireless technology in everyday use. From Wi-Fi thermostats to mobile apps on company-issued smart phones, being connected brings efficiency and economy to every HVAC visit.
The Internet of Things (IoT) now allows HVAC contractors to automate many of their sales and service steps. Homeowners with internet-connected furnaces, boilers, ventilation systems, central air conditioners and thermostats are able to check up on their home from the other side of the country, or even from their vacation in Rome, where they can still see the fabled Baths of Caracalla (though nobody bathes there these days, since they are in ruins).
Change in the Program
Beyond a thermostat’s odd ability to “call” a homeowner from her house in Hot Springs, as she basks in a hot bath in Bath, England, smart homes and programmable thermostats can match homeowners’ homes’ inside air to their schedules. Even if the kids have different activities and arrival times every night of the week, today’s technology (maintained and repaired by HVAC technicians) can keep a house cool or warm, at the ideal humidity.
Programmable thermostats (such as the Nest learning thermostat) that learn a homeowner’s routine (or non-routine) can save money on fuel, reduce wear and tear on HVAC systems and make technicians’ jobs easier by reducing extensive maintenance chores. Of course, the HVAC technician must be thoroughly knowledgeable in adjusting, programming or troubleshooting the elaborate, computerized thermostats.
Boilers and furnaces that can accept multiple fuels allow homeowners and businesses to adapt to changing markets:
- fuel oil
- natural gas
- liquid propane
Change the Cartridge
HVAC technicians may see a day when 3D-printed bricks use evaporative cooling to efficiently cool rooms or entire houses with nothing but water and air flow. These cooling bricks have no moving parts, nothing to maintain or repair, and are built into your home. Then the role of the HVAC technician could come down to making sure the bricks are wet.
No industry has felt the revolution of climate change or answered the need for clean technology like the HVAC industry. From amazing condensing gas furnaces that wring up to 98.5 percent efficiency from their fuels to solar heating systems, clean HVAC technologies are leading the country away from coal and fossil fuels and into a cleaner, brighter future.
Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) is the industry standard measure of a boiler’s or furnace’s ability to turn fuel into usable heat, and the industry leaders are models that reach 98.5 percent AFUE. These are amazing machines that require a skilled, knowledgeable hand to inspect, maintain, and service them.
Using less refrigerant and environmentally sensitive R410-A instead of the destructive R-22 refrigerant (branded as Freon), today’s central air conditioners run more efficiently, use less electricity, and provide equivalent cooling as the monsters of yesteryear. Again, though, highly trained HVAC technicians bear the responsibility of correctly recovering and recycling the old R-22 refrigerant (which can be resold) and preventing its escape into the atmosphere.
While technology is changing the HVAC industry, qualified technicians do not hear the tiny clink of change in their pockets come payday; they fold a lot of paper money into their wallets. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage of HVAC mechanics and installers as of May, 2014 was $44,630, which provides a gross weekly income of $858.27.
Big Change: Double than Average Job Growth
The BLS also reports an enormous change coming to the HVAC industry: job growth of 14 percent through 2024, which is double the average rate of job growth for all occupations.
Keep Up with the Pace of HVAC Technology at ATI
If you want to be at the leading edge of technological innovation while still working with your hands and head every day, contact ATI to explore the options available through its innovative HVAC Technology with Service Management (AOS) program. Contact ATI today to learn how you can gain the 21st century skills and knowledge you need for entry-level employment in the technologically advanced world of HVAC. Contact us at 800-468-1093 or request information today.
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