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Klein Trade Program – Week 24

October 3, 2026

This week in our free HVAC trade program, we continued preparing for the certifications our students will be working toward over the next few weeks.

We started class with a discussion about basic electrical circuits as we continue preparing for the NATE Support Technician exam.

Then we shifted our focus to the next major milestone in the program: EPA Section 608 certification.

Keeping Electrical Simple

HVAC electrical can get complicated quickly.

Control boards, relays, capacitors, safeties, motors, contactors, transformers and dozens of wires can make a wiring diagram look overwhelming when you’re first getting into the trade.

So we went back to the basics.

We looked at simple circuits and separated them into two sides:

High voltage is what powers the equipment.

Low voltage is what controls it.

At the outdoor unit, we discussed how 240-volt power is made up of two 120-volt legs and how that power ultimately operates the compressor and condenser fan motor. Then we looked at the 24-volt control circuit that energizes the contactor.

We did the same thing with the air handler—following high voltage to the blower and electric heat while looking separately at the low-voltage signals that tell those components when to operate.

The diagrams were intentionally simple.

Before you can troubleshoot a complicated circuit, you have to understand a simple one.

As we get closer to the NATE Support Technician exam, we’ll continue building on those fundamentals.

EPA 608 Core

The second part of class began our preparation for the EPA Section 608 certification exam.

We started with Core.

Core lays the foundation for the rest of EPA 608 and covers the information every technician needs to understand before moving into Type I, Type II and Type III.

We discussed topics including:

  • Refrigerants and their environmental impact
  • Ozone depletion
  • Refrigerant recovery, recycling and reclamation
  • Venting regulations
  • Refrigerant cylinders and safe handling
  • Technician safety
  • EPA rules and responsibilities
  • Important dates, definitions and numbers that appear on the exam

There’s definitely some memorization involved in EPA 608, but we’re trying to go further than memorizing answers to test questions.

We want the students to understand why these rules exist and what they mean when they’re actually working in the field.

EPA 608 Study Guide

As part of the program, we put together an EPA 608 Universal Study Guide for our students as they prepare for the exam.

It covers the major information from Core, Type I, Type II and Type III, including the rules, terminology, safety information and key numbers they’ll need to know.

We’re making the same study guide available here for anyone else preparing for their EPA 608 certification.

Download the EPA 608 Universal Study Guide

Certification Is Getting Closer

Over the last several months, we’ve spent a lot of time learning how HVAC systems actually work.

We’ve taken systems apart. We’ve looked at airflow, refrigeration, electrical components, drainage, ductwork, installation practices and troubleshooting.

Now we’re beginning to put the certification pieces around that knowledge.

The students are preparing for their EPA 608 exam in the next few weeks, while we continue preparing for the NATE Support Technician exam that will follow.

The goal isn’t simply to collect certifications.

It’s to build technicians who understand the equipment they’re working on, know how to work safely and responsibly, and have a solid foundation they can continue building on throughout their careers.

Week 24 complete.

Next up: continuing through EPA 608 as we get closer to exam day.