Best HVAC Schools in Tennessee (2026)

Coverage at TCAT Knoxville reaches past comfort cooling into commercial refrigeration, humidifiers, heat pumps, and gas and electric heating, and the manual skills are named plainly: brazing refrigeration tubing, installing duct systems, recovering refrigerant, and finding and fixing leaks. Electricity and controls appear twice in the sequence, as a first-trimester fundamentals course and again at a second level in the final trimester, with motors covered in between.

Tennessee puts no license between a graduate and the work, because the state only licenses contracting businesses, and only once a job reaches $25,000. That makes accumulated credentials the whole story on a Tennessee resume, and this program stacks them: certificates at two stopping points and diplomas at two more, EPA Section 608, which is a federal certification, R410A, Green Technician, ESCO exams in air conditioning and electrical, and a Snap-On credential covering building performance instruments.

Class times split into day and night sections, though the commitment is full time on either track and spans four trimesters. Students train at the main campus on Liberty Street in Knoxville or at the Anderson County Higher Education Center in Clinton. Pricing is published rather than quoted, $6,597 for tuition and fees with books and supplies near $2,361, and the heavier specialty material, carbon monoxide work and commercial refrigeration, lands in the final two trimesters.

Sources: Tennessee HVAC school program, EPA Section 608.

Fourteen months of full time study, 1,596 clock hours, gets you the Advanced HVAC Technician diploma at TCAT Dickson. Classes run Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 2:30 PM. Total tuition and fees come to $6,411, with textbooks and supplies estimated at $2,044.69. The program is accredited by HVAC Excellence at both the Dickson and Clarksville campuses.

You do not have to complete all 1,596 hours to leave with a credential. The program has four exit points: a Refrigeration Fundamentals certificate at 432 hours, an HVAC Installer certificate at 864, an HVAC Technician diploma at 1,296, and the Advanced HVAC Technician diploma at 1,596. Coursework moves through four trimesters, from refrigerant fundamentals and electrical components to gas heat, heat pumps, troubleshooting, high efficiency systems, and light commercial HVAC.

Students test for an extensive slate of HVAC Excellence/ESCO certifications. EPA Section 608, Low GWP Refrigerant Safety, Air Conditioning, Electrical, Gas Heat, Heat Pump, and System Diagnostics and Troubleshooting are required to graduate; roughly twenty more, plus NC3 credentials and OSHA 10, are available. Training is offered at the main campus on Highway 46 South in Dickson and at the Clarksville campus on International Blvd.

Sources: Tennessee HVAC school program, EPA Section 608, HVAC Excellence, OSHA.

Day students finish in 16 months and evening students in 18 at TCAT Nashville; the full program runs 1,728 clock hours. Total tuition and fees run $6,212, with textbooks and supplies around $2,059. Training covers troubleshooting, repair, and maintenance of residential and commercial refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps, humidifiers, and electric and gas heating, along with the fundamentals of electricity, electric motors, and controls.

Four exit points let students leave with a credential before the full diploma: HVAC Mechanic Assistant at 432 hours, Domestic Unit Repair at 864, and Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Technician at 1,296, each a certificate, then the full HVAC and Refrigeration Technician diploma at 1,728 hours. Classes meet at the main campus at 100 White Bridge Pike in Nashville, and the program admits students in both day and evening sections.

Certification preparation includes Section 608 EPA Certification, R-410A Safety from the AC&R Safety Coalition, Green Awareness, and Employment Ready Certifications in electrical, gas heat, air conditioning, and heat pump work. Separate cost sheets for the day and evening programs, updated for the 2025-2026 year, are posted with the books and supplies lists. The program admits both full time and part time students, with day and night class options.

Sources: Tennessee HVAC school program, EPA Section 608.

Two campuses, one in Newbern and one in Covington, offer this HVAC Excellence accredited program at TCAT Northwest. The full course of study runs 16 months and 1,728 clock hours, with both day and night classes and full or part time enrollment. Total tuition and fees are $6,160, and textbooks and supplies add an estimated $1,609.

Credentials stack across four trimesters: HVAC Mechanic Assistant certificate at 432 hours, Domestic Unit Repair certificate at 864, HVAC Technician diploma at 1,296, and HVAC/R Technician diploma at 1,728. The curriculum begins with safety, fundamentals, electricity, and installation, moves through system service, controls, motors, and domestic appliances, covers gas and electric heat, cooling, heat pumps, and carbon monoxide, and finishes with a second electricity and controls course plus commercial refrigeration.

Graduates can sit for EPA 608 and EPA 609 along with a long list of HVAC Excellence/ESCO exams, including electrical, gas heat, oil heat, air conditioning, light commercial air conditioning, heat pump, and system diagnostics. The program describes preparing technicians to install and repair equipment from window units to large central systems, and notes most jobs are with dealers and contractors who sell and service heating and cooling equipment.

One HVAC school program covers all 2 campuses, so this description applies to each. Class times and local detail differ, so confirm with the campus you would attend.

Sources: Tennessee HVAC school program, EPA Section 609, EPA Section 608, HVAC Excellence.

One year is the published length of the HVAC/R diploma at TCAT Chattanooga, offered in full time day and evening formats on the main campus. The college reports a 72% job placement rate and average graduate earnings of $43,880 per year. Day classes meet 7:45 AM to 2:30 PM and evening classes 4:00 PM to 10:45 PM in fall and spring, with slightly longer summer hours, Monday through Friday, and enrollment capped at 24 per class.

The year breaks into three semesters: 450 hours in fall, 450 in spring, and 390 in summer. Students may enroll in any term if space is available, registering for open seats during each term's enrollment period. Expect a significant tool bill; the required list, from a Fieldpiece digital multimeter set to manifold gauges and a vacuum gauge, averages $2,800, and tools are due by the 30th class day of the first semester.

Coursework combines classroom and shop time in residential, commercial, and industrial air conditioning and refrigeration, plus gas, oil, and electric heating and heat pump systems. Graduates find work as technicians, installers, and maintenance or service staff. The program is frank about working conditions: technicians may work in hot attics, dark wet crawl spaces, high places, and cramped positions, with hazards from electrical shock and refrigerant contact. Required texts include Tomczyk's Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology, 9th Edition.

Sources: Tennessee HVAC school program.

Diploma candidates here commit to the full 1,728 clock hours; TCAT Morristown lists a single exit credential, the HVAC-R Technician diploma, rather than shorter certificate options. The program runs 16 months of full time day classes. Total tuition and fees are $5,948, with textbooks and supplies estimated at $2,665. EPA certifications are integrated into the program for compliance with federal refrigerant laws.

A distinctive fourth trimester extends beyond commercial refrigeration and advanced electrical controls into major appliance repair: gas and electric dryers, top and front load washers, dishwashers, microwaves, ranges, refrigerators and freezers, and water heaters. Earlier trimesters cover refrigeration fundamentals, installation, motors, domestic appliances, gas and electric heat, cooling, heat pumps, and carbon monoxide, and students can learn silver soldering with an oxyacetylene torch.

Three locations serve the region: the main campus on West Louise Ave in Morristown, the Greene County Instructional Service Center in Greeneville, and the Hawkins County Extension in Surgoinsville, each with its own posted cost sheet. The program describes individualized training paced to each student's background, aimed at entry level employment or higher in residential and commercial heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration, and it also serves people already employed in the field who need updated training.

Sources: Tennessee HVAC school program.

Sixteen months of day or night classes, 1,728 clock hours in all, train entry level technicians at TCAT Memphis. Students learn to repair, troubleshoot, and maintain residential and commercial air conditioning, refrigeration, heat pumps, electric and gas heating, solar and hydronic heating, ice machines, and humidifiers.

Variable refrigerant flow systems get a full trimester. After refrigerant fundamentals, electrical work, installation, gas heat, and heat pumps, the fourth trimester covers VRF installation and troubleshooting, automated controls, airflow and static pressure, and envelope tightness training. Four exit points structure the program: HVAC Mechanic Assistant certificate at 432 hours, Domestic Unit Repair certificate at 864, and technician diplomas at 1,296 and 1,728 hours.

Fifteen HVAC Excellence/ESCO certifications are listed, spanning electrical, electric heat, gas heat, oil heat, air conditioning, light commercial air conditioning, heat pump, system diagnostics and troubleshooting, refrigeration and charging procedures, carbon monoxide safety, hydronic heat, and combustion analysis. Classes are held at the main campus on Alabama Ave in Memphis and the Bartlett Extension Campus on Appling Rd.

Sources: Tennessee HVAC school program, HVAC Excellence.

Stackable credentials structure the HVAC/R program at TCAT Crump: an HVAC Mechanic Assistant certificate at 432 hours, a Domestic Unit Repair certificate at 864, a Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning Technician diploma at 1,296, and the full HVAC/R Technician diploma at 1,728 hours. Both full time and part time day sections run at the main campus. The college does not publish tuition, a month count, or a class schedule on this page.

Training mixes classroom instruction with shop practice on the tools, equipment, and systems used in the field. Students learn to troubleshoot HVAC/R system problems, repair and maintain equipment, work with refrigeration units, heat pumps, humidifiers, and gas or electric heaters, use testing equipment to diagnose issues, and apply safe refrigerant recovery procedures and brazing techniques. The emphasis is residential and light commercial service work.

Career options named for graduates include HVAC technician, refrigeration specialist, system installer, service technician, maintenance technician, and commercial HVAC technician. Potential employers range from residential service companies and commercial heating and cooling contractors to construction firms, property maintenance departments, industrial and facility operations, and support companies in the nuclear and clean energy sector.

Sources: Tennessee HVAC school program.

Commercial chilling and freezing systems anchor the curriculum at TCAT Elizabethton, alongside installation, repair, and maintenance of commercial and domestic air conditioning. The program takes 16 months of full time day study, 1,728 clock hours, at the main campus on Highway 91 North in Elizabethton. Total tuition and fees come to $6,348, with textbooks and supplies estimated at $2,923.48.

Students can exit with an HVAC Mechanic Assistant certificate at 432 hours, a Domestic Unit Repairer certificate at 864, a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Technician diploma at 1,296, or the full HVAC and Refrigeration Technician diploma at 1,728. Coursework covers compressors, expansion valves, thermostats and pressure controls, charging and discharging refrigerants, testing hermetic units, blueprint reading, and the repair of electrical and pneumatic control systems.

Certification targets include EPA Section 608 Universal certification, a refrigerant safety certification, and HVAC Excellence Employment Ready credentials in electricity, air conditioning, and heat pumps. The four trimester sequence moves from shop safety, refrigeration fundamentals, and installation through system service, motors, and domestic appliances to gas and electric heat, cooling, heat pumps, carbon monoxide, and finally commercial refrigeration.

Sources: Tennessee HVAC school program, EPA Section 608, HVAC Excellence.

New students enroll every month as space is available at TCAT Upper Cumberland, which runs its HVAC program over 16 months and 1,728 clock hours of day classes, full or part time. Total tuition and fees are $6,348, textbooks and supplies add an estimated $2,423, and the program is accredited by HVAC Excellence.

Each trimester ends at a credential: the HVAC Mechanic Assistant certificate at 432 hours, the Domestic Unit Repair certificate at 864, the Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning Technician diploma at 1,296, and the HVAC and Refrigeration Technician diploma at 1,728. Graduates are prepared to troubleshoot and repair residential and commercial refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps, humidifiers, and electrical and gas heating, and to install and braze refrigeration tubing, install duct systems, and locate and repair leaks.

Certification preparation covers EPA Section 608 refrigerant handling, the OSHA 10 exam, and HVAC Excellence/ESCO exams in electrical, gas heat, heat pump, and air conditioning. Training is available at the main campus on Miller Avenue in Crossville and at the Jackson County location in Gainesboro, and the school posts a deep document set, including a course breakdown, tool list, book list, handbook, and cost sheet, for applicants who want detail before enrolling.

Sources: Tennessee HVAC school program, EPA Section 608, HVAC Excellence, OSHA.

TCAT Jackson runs its HVAC/R program at two locations, the main campus and the Whiteville Extension Campus, both as full time day sections. The college does not publish clock hours, tuition, or a program length on this page, so applicants will need to request those details. Both sites run the program as a full time day section, so the choice between them is about travel rather than schedule or content.

Coursework pairs classroom time with practice on the equipment used in the field. Topics include troubleshooting system problems, repairing and maintaining HVAC/R equipment, refrigeration units, heat pumps, humidifiers, and gas or electric heaters, the basics of mechanics, electricity, and electronics as they apply to climate control systems, diagnostic testing equipment, electrical systems and ductwork, and safe refrigerant recovery and brazing technique. The program aims at residential and light commercial service work.

Employment paths listed for completers span residential service companies, commercial heating and cooling contractors, refrigeration service businesses, construction and installation firms, property maintenance departments, and industrial and facility operations, including support work in the nuclear and clean energy sector. Job titles range from HVAC technician and system installer to refrigeration specialist and commercial HVAC technician, with the college noting room to grow into specialized service areas, supervision, or business ownership.

Sources: Tennessee HVAC school program.