An interesting aspect of climate change and its impact on society is related to professional development and the job market for HVAC technicians, who happen to be in great demand these days. This professional field is undergoing a transformation due to technological advances prompted by rising temperatures and changing weather patterns in many global regions.
If you have been contemplating getting into the HVAC field, this is a very good time to start training. Here are a few reasons why you should accept the challenge of becoming an HVAC technician.
Following Weather Patterns
Rising temperatures does not mean that winters will go away. In some regions, summers are getting longer while winters are getting shorter, but temperatures are becoming more extreme. What this means for prospective HVAC technicians is that they are bound to find more profitable job opportunities in large cities where the effects of climate change are having a greater impact.
Technical Education
When you enroll in an institution such as the HVAC Technical Institute, you will encounter a curriculum that is rich in scientific and technological topics. In the past, HVAC curricula were heavily slanted towards passing the state examinations required to obtain a professional certification; these days, HVAC education tends to be more holistic. You can expect to learn about programmable controls and thermostats that connect to the Internet of Things, more commonly referred to as IoT, so that they can be controlled via smartphone by homeowners. You will also learn about how HVAC systems can be installed and configured in ways to minimize their carbon footprint.
New Climate Control Units
Another factor that is changing the HVAC landscape is related to the energy revolution unfolding across several markets. One example of this development can be observed in developing nations where small and autonomous cooling units can be connected to solar panels that are not part of the power grid. Other examples are boilers and furnaces that are able to operate with either natural gas extracted from shale fields or with liquefied propane. In the future, heating units that run on biofuel may be able to operate with electrical power as well.
Financial Security
The HVAC field may be in high demand as of 2017, but this does not mean that graduates will be able to easily find work in the next few years. Occupational fields can get overcrowded quickly, and thus it helps to learn about entrepreneurship in case the job market goes through a period of downturn.
In the end, prospective HVAC technicians should not wait too long to get started with their education. This can be a lucrative field, but it may not stay that way forever.