The Guild · skilled trades & applied crafts
HVAC & Building Systems
Comfort is an engineering problem — moving heat where it is wanted and keeping it there.
Four components, one loop — how compressors, coils, and a metering device move heat uphill.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~20 hours
Unit I — Heat Moves
Sensible and latent heat · Pressure-temperature relationships · Saturation, superheat, and subcooling
Unit II — The Four Components
The compressor · Condenser and evaporator coils · Metering devices: TXV and fixed orifice · Following the refrigerant around the loop
Unit III — Measuring the Cycle
Gauges and probes · Calculating superheat and subcooling · What the numbers say about system health
Gas furnaces, boilers, and heat pumps — combustion, sequence of operation, and safe service.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~24 hours
Unit I — Combustion Basics
Fuels and combustion air · Flue gases and venting · Carbon monoxide and the analyzer
Unit II — The Gas Furnace
Sequence of operation, step by step · Ignition systems · Heat exchangers and their inspection · Common failures and their symptoms
Unit III — Boilers and Heat Pumps
Hydronic loops and circulators · Heat pump operation in heating mode · Defrost and auxiliary heat
Static pressure, duct sizing, and balancing — because the best equipment fails behind bad duct.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~18 hours
Unit I — Airflow Fundamentals
CFM, velocity, and static pressure · Measuring with a manometer · Blower curves in plain terms
Unit II — Duct Design
Trunk-and-branch versus radial layouts · Sizing with a friction chart · Fittings and their losses · Sealing and insulation
Unit III — Balancing
Registers, grilles, and dampers · Room-by-room airflow checks · Fixing the starved room
Twenty-four volts of logic — thermostats, contactors, and control boards read from the diagram.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~26 hours
Unit I — The Control Circuit
Transformers and the 24-volt circuit · Thermostats: staging and wiring · Contactors and relays
Unit II — Reading Diagrams
Ladder diagrams · Tracing a call for cooling · Safeties and limit switches
Unit III — Boards and Diagnostics
Control boards and fault codes · Testing inputs and outputs · Hunting intermittent control faults
Refrigerant types, recovery, and the law — everything the Section 608 exam actually tests.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~10 hours
Unit I — Refrigerants and Rules
Refrigerant families and their phase-out history · Ozone depletion, warming potential, and the law · The four certification types
Unit II — Handling
Recovery, recycling, and reclamation · Cylinders, fill limits, and labeling · Leak rates and repair requirements
Unit III — Exam Practice
Core section drill · Type I and Type II drill · Common traps in exam wording