Weiss said the conference, which features a highlighted session on emerging technology, is increasingly valuable as the HVACR industry moves “from the mechanical age to the digital age,” where contractors can’t always rely on previous knowledge to solve new problems.

“Take a look at electronics when you were growing up, and look at electronics today,” he said. “Could you take an iPhone apart today? You couldn’t.”

The conference is designed not only to provide continuing education and teach existing and emerging technology to instructors, he said, but also to provide educator-credentialing tests for those who wish to become a Certified Subject Matter Educator (CSME) or Certified Master HVACR Educator (CMHE).

“This is a tremendous opportunity to train the next generation, and to train them right,” Weiss said. “It all comes down to making sure the teachers themselves are up to date.”

Diverse Training

The National HVAC Educators and Trainers Conference will consist of nearly 60 concurrent sessions covering new and changing technologies, changes in federal legislation, energy efficiency, best practices, training techniques, and green and sustainable technologies, according to the organization. There will also be industry exhibits and roundtables for networking.
General session topics include green awareness, reducing the energy impact of HVACR equipment, national policy issues, and concerns for career and technical education. HVAC Excellence is also highlighting the following breakout sessions:

• Richard Benkowski, a sales engineer for Carrier products and trainer for the United Association, will conduct a train-the-trainer session covering emerging technologies, including combined heat and power (CHP) systems, which offer an efficient approach to generating electric power and useful thermal energy from a single fuel source.

• Frank Spevak of the Energy Conservatory will lead a class on duct and building envelope-tightness testing for code compliance, and will also address duct-leakage rates, typical testing requirements, testing procedures, code required documentation, and building envelope-tightness testing.

• Patrick Bundy of Sporlan will conduct a train-the-trainer session on TEV and EEV — theory of operation, superheat adjustment, and troubleshooting. Session attendees will have a complete understanding of superheat and the result it has on system performance. They will learn how to properly diagnose a thermostatic or electric expansion valve failure and the proper solution.

• Tom Lane of ECS Solar will present a 90-minute session on solar thermal training program implementation. The session will outline training programs to add high demand solar thermal skill sets to existing HVACR programs, putting students in a unique position to enter fast-growing careers.

Sessions at the conference will be conducted by industry leaders from the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), ASHRAE, Carrier, Daikin, DuPont, Emerson, Esco, Genteq, UA, and more.

For more information, or to register for the conference, visit www.hvacexcellence.org.

Publication date: 2/11/2013