So the demand is there and support from the federal and state governments is growing. What’s behind is the workforce – at least temporarily. And the U.S. is far from alone: wherever heat pump adoption increases, more workers will need to upskill to meet demand. “If you look at a place like Finland, where pretty much all heating systems are heat pumps, it’s not really a problem anymore,” says Jan Rosenow, who works on electrification at the Regulatory Assistance Project, a policy NGO for the energy community. “If you wanted to buy an electric car 10 years ago, it was pretty difficult, right? Now you can go into any showroom and find them. I think the same will be the case with heat pumps. It is already This is the case with heat pumps in more mature markets.”
However, in the United States there is no huge national program to quickly train more people in HVAC. “It would just make sense that there would be this pathway to learn more about heat pumps, and then there would be a whole force that would go out and install these things,” says Ed Janowiak, director of HVAC and refrigeration design education at the non-profit air conditioning contractors from America. “Right now there is such an opportunity for people to get involved locally. It shouldn’t take long for them to earn a decent wage there. And sometimes I still sit here with my palms up and wonder why it doesn’t happen automatically.”
In the United States, there is no official pathway for HVAC workers, but rather several. Trade schools and community colleges offer HVAC training. Unions offer apprenticeships and many HVAC companies run their own training programs to attract people to the profession. “The most successful companies right now in finding these people to install are not necessarily hiring people who are already in the field,” Janowiak says. “But when you look at the number of technicians going through these programs nationally versus the demand, the numbers just aren’t there. So we need a lot more people.”
For experienced HVAC workers who are already trained in fossil fuel systems, such as gas furnace installation, heat pump manufacturers offer their own training on how to install their products, which is of course in their best interest. HVAC companies also conduct their own heat pump training courses for established employees, which typically last two days. If a home has ducts, a heat pump works similarly to a traditional air conditioner, so the installation is nearly identical.
But all of these workers need to not just be trained, but trained So, so they don’t accidentally turn customers off from energy-efficient appliances just as the heat pump revolution is getting underway. If the size of the heat pump doesn’t match the size of the house or the plumbing within it, it won’t be as efficient. If you don’t have ducts, a contractor may recommend a simpler, ductless heat pump that is built into an exterior-facing wall. “My greatest hope is that the people who end up installing these are trained wisely,” says Janowiak, “and that they install devices that work the way we want them to.”