Best HVAC Schools in California (2026)

This Redlands, California technical school trains students for HVAC certification and refrigeration work in real shop environments, using the industry equipment technicians encounter on the job. Programs at North American Training Center are accredited by HVAC Excellence, and the school is a member of the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

Job placement help comes through industry relationships the school has built with companies across Southern California that look to hire its graduates. NATC is direct that employment cannot be guaranteed, but says it is dedicated to helping graduates start careers that allow them to support themselves and their families.

The published page is thin on specifics: no program length, schedule, tuition, or curriculum details appear, so prospective students should contact the school directly before comparing it against other options. NATC points visitors to its training page for more program information and invites direct contact for additional details.

Sources: California HVAC school program, HVAC Excellence.

Ten months is the shortest completion time for HVAC/R technician training at Brownson Technical School in Anaheim, when the program is finished in normal time. Schedules flex across full-time day, part-time evening, or blended online and on-campus formats, and the school's 1,040-hour program runs longer than what it cites as the average 720-hour program.

Two pathways split enrollment: one for students new to HVAC and one for people already working in the field who want certification, with both geared toward the relevant HVAC certification exams. Training happens in a 20,000 square foot facility with 12,000 square feet devoted to lab work, and coursework covers technologies including direct digital controls and building automation.

Brownson has trained HVAC/R students for over 40 years and cites an 89 percent job placement rate within one year of graduation, though that figure is based on 2015 statistics. Instructors are subject matter experts, and some are Master Certified HVAC Educators. The school describes its campus as one of the largest HVAC/R facilities in Southern California and offers tours to prospective students.

Sources: California HVAC school program.

Salary data is the most concrete information Mt. San Antonio College publishes for its air conditioning and refrigeration program: average technician wages of around $23 per hour, with annual salaries ranging from $23,000 to $69,000 depending on company size and technician skill and experience. Many graduates work for companies such as Trane, Source Refrigeration, Carrier Corporation, and In and Out.

Employers span large manufacturers with their own service, design, and installation departments as well as small and medium-sized independent contractors, and the college notes that many graduates have started their own businesses. Technicians can work across diverse facets of the trade and relocate readily, and employers expect people skills and a clean driving record, since technicians may be assigned a service vehicle.

Program specifics are missing from this page: no degrees, certificates, course list, program length, or tuition appear, so students will need the college's catalog or the department itself for that information. The career outlook section is also dated, citing an industry forecast of at least 22,000 California job openings by the year 2014.

Sources: California HVAC school program, IPEDS.

A two-year program at Cypress College in Cypress, California prepares students for entry-level positions in air conditioning and refrigeration, spanning service, design, controls application, and sales. Graduates can enter the industry in applied engineering, estimating and design, service repair, construction, building automation, and manufacturing, and the college publishes its degrees, certificates, and courses in its catalog rather than on the program page.

Coursework runs wide: refrigerants, charging, and recovery, thermodynamics and heat transfer, electricity for air conditioning, gas heat transfer systems, piping practice and safety, boiler and hydronic heating, solar energy for heating and cooling, load calculation, commercial air conditioning and commercial refrigeration, codes and estimating, controls and energy management, heat pumps, and building commissioning. Green refrigeration and auditing, crew leadership, and project management courses point students toward supervisory and energy-focused work.

Cypress lists salary figures for heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers: a low of $32,000, an average of $53,000, and a high of $90,000 per year. The department sits within the college's Career Technical Education division, and the college describes the field's job opportunities as expanding as digital technologies interface with the electromechanical and pneumatic systems already in wide use.

Sources: California HVAC school program, IPEDS.