Installation: Residential furnaces (60 percent AFUE through 95 percent AFUE, varying brands and models) arranged to simulate single-family and multifamily installations; units include spilt-system air conditioning evaporator coils and matching remote-mounted condensing units, 12-18 SEER. Commercial rooftop units start with the most basic 8 EER rooftop units through 12 EER and 18 EER with digital scroll compressors, variable-speed drive a/c fan motors, modulating gas valves, and electronically commutated (EC) fan motors.

Objective: Install residential and commercial equipment on which HVAC students at the Rocky Mountain Education Center can train.

Work Completed: The Rocky Mountain Training Center recently rebuilt its HVAC learning lab from the ground up, installing a wide variety of residential and commercial HVAC equipment, making the facility one of the most advanced HVAC labs in the region. The upgrade was funded by the college’s Rocky Mountain Education Center (RMEC) and completed by part-time instructors Charlie Gutierrez and Jeremy Beard, staff member Lenny Miller, and students Brennan Pralle and Bud Stott. It took seven months to rebuild the 3,000-square-foot lab. Several manufacturers and HVAC contractors and manufacturers — including CarrierWest, Honeywell, Major Heating and Air Conditioning, Haynes Mechanical Systems, AMS, EBM Papst, Copeland, and Danfoss — donated approximately $20,000 in new high-tech equipment for training.

Quote: “It’s exciting to get to play with all the equipment. We can really see how different scenarios affect efficiency and operations. We can mimic real-world situations in this lab. That’s the biggest benefit we have to offer the students." -- Charlie Gutierrez, HVAC program adjunct instructor, Rocky Mountain Training Center.

Publication date: 5/27/2012 

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