National Technical Institute

HVAC School & Training in Reno, NV

An HVAC trade school in Reno, NV, at The Oddie District in Sparks. Fusion runs 16 weeks with online lecture videos and one lab day a week, and Traditional runs 12 weeks on campus.

How Our Reno HVAC Training Works

Our HVAC school in Reno is at The Oddie District in Sparks. In the Fusion format, the program runs 16 weeks and pairs online lecture videos with a weekly lab day where students hook gauges up to running equipment, solder and braze, and track down faults on residential and commercial package and split units. No HVAC background is required.

It’s an HVAC trade school program, and it prepares you for an entry-level HVAC job. New hires in the trade usually start as helpers or apprentices and build their skills from there.

What You Get at NTI

Fusion Training is a hybrid format. The lectures are online videos you can watch around a job or family schedule, and the hands-on work happens in the lab one day a week with an instructor. Because the lectures don’t run at a set time, the lab day is the only scheduled part of the week, which is why we designed Fusion for students who already have jobs.

  • Program Name:

    Entry Level HVAC/R Technician (Fusion or Traditional) — certificate of completion

  • Program Length:

    12 weeks (Traditional) or 16 weeks (Fusion)

  • Contact hours:

    192 (Traditional)

  • Program Formats:

    Fusion, Traditional

  • Lab Schedule:

    One lab day a week in Fusion; admissions has the current schedule

  • Includes:

    The EPA 608 Universal certification exam, with your first attempt included in the program cost

  • Tuition & Financing:

    The full cost comes from admissions before you enroll; financing is available to those who qualify, including NTI’s in-house plan: 12 months, no interest, paid directly to NTI

  • Campus:

    Reno-Sparks, at 2450 Oddie Blvd., Sparks

Our Reno-Sparks campus

The HVAC lab is at our Reno-Sparks campus at The Oddie District, 2450 Oddie Blvd. in Sparks, and all of the hands-on training happens there, in every format. Each program’s lab is set up like a job site, with operational HVAC systems and units, live plumbing systems and power for the electrical program. Our electrician school and plumbing school programs run from the same campus; see the Reno-Sparks campus page for directions and more about the campus.

National Technical Institute – Reno-Sparks

  • 2450 Oddie Blvd., Suite 151, Sparks, NV 89431

  • (775) 365-0632

Two ways to do it

Reno-Sparks runs both formats.

  • Fusion — 16 weeks. A hybrid format: you watch the lecture videos online, then come into the lab one day a week.

  • Traditional — 12 weeks, four hours a day, four days a week on campus.

Admissions can tell you which cohorts are open and when the next one begins.

What You Finish With

At the end of the program you receive an NTI certificate of completion. By then you’ll know your way around the tools and safety practices of HVAC work and the terms used on a job site, and the theory courses will have covered how the systems themselves run.

During the program you also take the EPA 608 Universal certification exam. Passing it gives you the federal credential required to handle refrigerant; there’s more on it below.

The certificate of completion is not a license, and EPA 608 is a separate credential from it.

EPA 608 Universal Certification

Exam Included With Program

Section 608 of the federal Clean Air Act says that anyone who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of equipment containing regulated refrigerants must hold certification from an EPA-approved organization. There are four kinds: Type I covers small appliances, Type II high-pressure equipment, Type III low-pressure equipment, and Universal all three. The certification has no expiration date.

EPA 608 is federal, and it’s a different credential from the NTI certificate of completion. Neither is a license.

You take the exam here.

The program’s two-day EPA certification seminar covers the federal refrigerant regulations along with recovery, recycling and disposal, and finishes with the EPA 608 Universal exam. Your first attempt is included in the program cost. Passing is also required to receive the tool bag at the end of the program.

hvac students

Paying for it

Admissions will break down the full cost for you before you enroll: tuition, the textbook, the EPA exam fee, and the lab materials and tools fee. The equipment you use in the lab is included in tuition.

For those who qualify, there are several ways to finance it. NTI’s in-house plan has no interest and is paid to NTI across 12 months, and there are also funding options through third-party lenders. Details are on the financing page.

What You Learn in Reno HVAC Technician Training

Refrigeration fundamentals

The theory of refrigeration and the thermal laws it rests on, the components of a system, the refrigeration cycle, how refrigerants behave, and the main compressor types. Along the way you learn gauges, the pressure-temperature chart, and soldering and brazing.

Electrical for HVAC

Electron theory and Ohm’s law, series and parallel circuits, schematics and wiring diagrams, test instruments and electric motors. Control circuits, motor controls, starting and running circuits and motor protection follow, as you build and test the circuits found in HVAC equipment.

Air conditioning

Ductwork and airflow, refrigerant and electrical controls, recovery, evacuation and recharging, and judging a system’s performance from its superheat and subcooling.

Gas heating and heat pumps

Combustion and ignition theory, operating and safety controls, and the types of furnaces. Then heat pumps: how they work, how they’re designed and what they’re made of, and troubleshooting the problems specific to them.

Commercial refrigeration

The equipment and components used in commercial and industrial refrigeration, and troubleshooting and repairing commercial systems.

Troubleshooting

Methods for diagnosing faults, put into practice in the lab on residential and commercial package and split units with a range of problems.

HVAC Technician Pay and Job Outlook

Across the country, HVAC and refrigeration mechanics and installers earned a median of $61,010 a year in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which projects 11% job growth from 2025 to 2035.

HVACR mechanics and installers — national, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Measure Figure
Median annual wage $61,010 (May 2025)
Projected employment growth 11% (2025–2035)
Projected annual openings ~40,600 / year
Typical entry-level education Postsecondary nondegree award

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers. Wage data as of May 2025; projections cover 2025–2035.

The BLS wage survey also covers the Reno, NV metro area, where about 760 HVAC and refrigeration mechanics and installers were working in May 2025. The table includes new hires as well as people with long careers, so it isn’t a starting wage.

HVAC and refrigeration mechanics and installers — Reno, NV metro area, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Measure Figure
Workers employed in the metro area about 760
Median annual wage $61,940 (May 2025)
Lowest 10% earned less than $47,090
Highest 10% earned more than $94,700

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Reno, NV metropolitan statistical area.

Reno HVAC School — Common Questions

Fusion takes 16 weeks: online lecture videos plus one lab day a week. Traditional takes 12 weeks on campus, four days a week.

No. You start with how refrigeration works and basic electrical theory, then go on to air conditioning, heating and troubleshooting, so you can start as a complete beginner. To enroll, you’ll need a high school diploma or GED.

Yes. NTI’s Reno-Sparks campus is at The Oddie District, 2450 Oddie Blvd. in Sparks. It offers this HVAC school along with electrician school and plumbing school programs, and admissions can walk you through enrolling.

NTI’s certificate of completion, and EPA 608 Universal certification too if you pass that exam. The certificate of completion is neither a license nor a certification.

The usual path is to learn the basics in a training program, get hired into an entry-level job, and build experience in the field alongside experienced HVAC technicians. At NTI, that first step is hands-on training at our Reno-Sparks campus, 16 weeks in Fusion or 12 weeks in Traditional, ending in a certificate of completion. Career services can help with job lead referrals and job skills when you start looking for work. Working with refrigerant also requires EPA 608 certification, and the EPA 608 Universal exam is included in the program.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, HVAC and refrigeration mechanics and installers in the Reno, NV metro area earned a median of $61,940 a year in May 2025. Beginners and experienced workers are both in that median, which makes it a poor measure of starting pay. It isn’t NTI graduate earnings, and NTI doesn’t guarantee employment or any particular wage.

No. NTI awards a certificate of completion, and that isn’t a license or a certification. In Nevada, the Nevada State Contractors Board licenses contracting businesses, not individual workers, so the program is aimed at an entry-level job with a licensed contractor.

A federal certification. Under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act, anyone who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of equipment containing regulated refrigerants must be certified by an EPA-approved organization. Universal certification covers all three equipment types. It’s separate from NTI’s certificate of completion, and it isn’t a license.

Yes. The program’s two-day EPA certification seminar ends with the EPA 608 Universal exam, and your first attempt is included in the program cost.

No. In Fusion, the lectures are online videos, but the weekly lab is in person and required, and Traditional is taught on campus. Reading gauges on a running unit and brazing a joint take practice on real equipment, and that happens in the lab.

Admissions will go over the full cost with you before you enroll. Financing options for those who qualify are listed under Paying for It.

Our Reno-Sparks campus is at The Oddie District, 2450 Oddie Blvd., Suite 151, Sparks, NV 89431, and all HVAC labs are held there.

No, the lab equipment is provided. Students receive an NTI tool bag on the last day of class if they’ve met the program’s academic and attendance standards, are current on payments and have their documents in order; for HVAC, passing the EPA 608 exam is also required.

Start dates are set by cohort, so we don’t list them here; admissions has the current schedule.

Entry-level HVAC service and installation jobs, most often as a technician for an HVAC contractor. If you pass EPA 608 Universal, you’ll already have the federal certification required to handle refrigerant. Career services offer graduates employment assistance, including job lead referrals and help building job skills. NTI does not guarantee employment.

Get Started with NTI

Interested in our HVAC school in Reno? Admissions can go over the formats, cost and financing, and start dates with you, and help you apply.

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