Refrigeration and Heating

Student starting oil burner

Refrigeration and Heating Program Requirements and courses

The Occupational Endorsement Certificate (OEC) in Refrigeration and Heating prepares participants in a time period as short as 9 months with the technical skills required to install, diagnose, and repair modern commercial and residential heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC/R) systems. Here, you can develop your ability to understand complex systems through class work and hands-on exercises, working with gas burners, oil burners, refrigeration systems, air conditioners, hydronic systems, ventilation systems, and heat pumps. Towards this end, we have significant equipment on-site, including furnaces, boilers, heat pumps, small refrigeration systems, a chiller, a RTU, a walk-in cooler, an ammonia refrigeration system, a hydronic heating system, and a small sheet metal shop. Graduates from the R&H OEC at Mat-Su College have many career opportunities, can specialize in specific areas, and often graduate with a job in hand.

Licensure and/or Certification

As part of the OEC in Refrigeration and Heating, students sit for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Section 608 certification exam and the ESCO Institute Employment Ready Gas Heating certification exam. The EPA 608 Certification is a federal nationwide requirement for working with or handling most refrigerants.

Please go to UAA's Authorization by State website for information about licensure or certification in a state other than Alaska. 

 
 
Learn about career
prospects in this field