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HVAC Academy
Residential HVAC learning package · as of 28 Oct 2026

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A Day 1 to final day course for a residential HVAC learner, in teaching order, with a link to every lesson.

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Stage 1, Day 1 · Tools 3D

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Manual and code come first

The package

What is in the box

Course path

Day 1 to final day

10 stages in teaching order. Each stage names the guide sections to read, then the Math and Tools scenes to open. Tags show where each step lives. All 37 Math scenes and 25 Tools scenes appear once.

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3Electricity and measuring

Weeks 2 to 3

Most calls end at a motor, a capacitor or a control wire. Read amps against the nameplate.

4Airflow, ducts and static pressure

Weeks 4 to 6

Charge is only half the system. Measure static pressure and airflow, then seal the ducts and clear the drain.

5Copper, nitrogen and vacuum

Weeks 7 to 10

The joints that must not leak, in the order you make them, then prove the system dry.

6Charge and service

Months 3 to 4

Pressure turns into temperature. Two gaps tell you the charge. Recover and find leaks the legal way.

7Gas, combustion and furnaces

Months 5 to 6

Gas work is licensed work. Learn the checks, then prove combustion with an analyzer.

8Design and code

Months 7 to 12

Size the load, pick the equipment, then check the California rules.

10Master: commission with data

Year 2 and on

Measure everything above in one visit and write it down. Then the money side.

Final-day commissioning visit: re-open Micron gauge, Static pressure, Measure airflow, Seal the duct, then test the leakage, Combustion analyzer (scenes you already did, now done in one visit).

Find what you need

Search every lesson, tool and guide section

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Written guide sections (60)
Math scenes (37)
Tools scenes (25)
Tool names (70)

Trust panel

What to believe, and how much

Four verification rounds on 2026-10-28, web search and page reading only. Round 1: 131 checks, 83 confirmed, 10 in conflict, 38 unconfirmed. Round 2: 54 checks, 35 confirmed, 9 in conflict, 10 unconfirmed. Local round 1 (Montecito, County and City): 86 checks, 56 confirmed, 3 in conflict, 27 unconfirmed. Local round 2: 40 checks, 25 confirmed, 3 in conflict, 12 unconfirmed. The rounds were run separately and partly re-check the same topics, so the totals are shown side by side, not added.

Confirmed from primary sources

  • Installation instructions read for Trane, Carrier, Lennox, Goodman/Daikin Comfort, Rheem/Ruud, Daikin, Mitsubishi and Fujitsu models.
  • Title 24 figures from energy.ca.gov, such as 350 cfm per ton for new systems and the charge verification rules. The 2025 code requires a load calculation (ASHRAE, SMACNA or Manual J).
  • Title 24 duct leakage: 5 percent applies to an entirely new residential duct system, and 6 percent to ducts in a garage and to the nonresidential form (energy.ca.gov).
  • EPA Section 608: pass score 70 percent, small appliance 5 lb, certificates do not expire.
  • California contract and lien rules, confirmed from republisher text (Justia and california.public.law), not the official leginfo site, which could not be reached. The CSLB agency guide matches. Downpayment is $1,000 or 10 percent, whichever is less; the $1,000 minor-work exemption is B&P 7048 and only if no permit is needed.

Typical value, not a rule

  • No universal nitrogen test pressure: makers print from 160 to 604 psig and different hold times.
  • 500 micron is common but hold-and-rise limits differ by maker.
  • Textbook constants in the Math scenes (1.08, 500, 4.5) are standard values, marked as such there.
  • About 100 tool-card entries were not individually re-verified.

Open conflicts and gaps

  • Flammability limits differ by source. R-32: 13.8 or 14.4 percent by volume. R-454B: 0.297, 0.303 or 0.354 kg/m3 depending on whose figure. The ASHRAE 34 table could not be read.
  • A2L cylinders carry a red band. One source calls it required; another (AHRI guideline) says should.
  • Add-on charge: Carrier 38AXQ prints 0.54 oz/ft, other Carrier and maker pages 0.60 (range seen 0.47 to 0.64 oz/ft). Use the manual for the unit in front of you.
  • Manual S edition: CALGreen cites S-2014, the Energy Code S-2023.
  • Manual S sizing limits (the percent window for cooling, furnace and heat pump equipment) are unconfirmed from ACCA's own pages. Only a 2009 ACCA-staff article gives 115 percent cooling and 140 percent furnace. Check Manual S and the equipment manufacturer.
  • Not found: silicon-nitride igniter ohms, Fujitsu and US Mitsubishi R-32 manuals.
  • Montecito climate zone: the CEC map layer gives zone 6 (zone 5 in the foothills above about 34.455 N), but a 2016 consultant table says zone 8 for ZIPs 93101 and 93108. Read in favour of the CEC layer, yet the CEC ZIP spreadsheet could not be read. Confirm by parcel.
  • Local items marked Unconfirmed in the Local rules panel were searched for and not found in a primary source.

This package does not replace the manufacturer’s installation manual, the adopted code, or a licensed professional. Where they disagree with anything here, they win. Gas, refrigerant and high-voltage work needs the right licence and certification.

Local rules

Montecito (County) versus City of Santa Barbara

Montecito is unincorporated. Its permits come from the County of Santa Barbara Planning and Development, Building and Safety Division, not from the City. Read each line for its label: County State City only Unconfirmed. The learning lessons are in the course above (stage 9) and in the guide section “Montecito and Santa Barbara: your local rules”.

What is confirmed

  • County A whole-unit swap needs a County permit. The County exemption covers swapping a component part, not a whole unit, and no like-for-like exemption wording was found. Source: Santa Barbara County Code Chapter 10, section 10-1.6.1, via gocodebook.com (a republisher of the official code), read 2026-10-28.
  • County 2025 California Mechanical Code and 2025 Energy Code are adopted (Ordinance 5270). The Energy Code is adopted “as amended” and the local amendments were not read. Source: County Code Chapter 10 Articles V and VI, gocodebook.com.
  • State Climate zone 6 for Montecito coast and valley; zone 5 in the foothills above about 34.455 N. Confirm by parcel on the CEC address tool, because a jurisdiction may assign one zone to a whole ZIP and a 2016 consultant table disagrees (zone 8). Source: CEC Building Climate Zones map layer, point queries, read 2026-10-28.
  • State Heat pump charge verification is required. Air conditioner charge verification is not in zone 5 or 6: it applies to air conditioners only in zones 2 and 8 to 15, and to heat pumps in every zone. Source: energy.ca.gov, read 2026-10-28.
  • State Load calculation required. Title 24 2025, section 150.0(h)1, accepts ASHRAE, SMACNA or ACCA Manual J methods. Source: energy.ca.gov.
  • County Design review guidance. The Montecito Architectural Guidelines say outside mechanical equipment, including air conditioning, should be integrated into the building or site design and condensers located or buffered. The exemption list does not name HVAC; whether a given job needs review depends on a Director determination. Source: Montecito Architectural Guidelines, May 2016, pages 17 and 21; Montecito Land Use and Development Code.
  • County County fee schedule (effective 2026-07-01), mechanical lines: issuance fee $156; air-handling unit including ducts $313 plan check and $156 inspection; each added cooling or heating unit $235 and $156; plus 6.00 percent technology and 3.70 percent general plan surcharges. No air conditioner or heat pump change-out line was seen, and the plan check and inspection column labels are inferred. Source: County Planning and Development fee schedule, read 2026-10-28.

City of Santa Barbara only. Do not apply these in Montecito.

  • City only Furnace permit fee $627 (FY26). New or replacement furnace, effective 2025-09-01; a wall heater is $315. No air conditioner or heat pump line was found. Source: santabarbaraca.gov, read 2026-10-28.
  • City only Condenser noise limit 53 dBA at the adjacent residential property line. Source: Santa Barbara Municipal Code 9.16.070.D, as cited in the City HVAC permit checklist.
  • City only Setbacks 5 ft side and 10 ft front for equipment. Source: City HVAC permit checklist, 17 Nov 2025, santabarbaraca.gov.

Other layers: check each one for the parcel

  • Unconfirmed Design review (MBAR) for a condenser, roof unit or line set. No source names them as requiring or exempt from review.
  • Unconfirmed Coastal Zone. No source gave the Montecito Coastal Zone boundary by parcel, and no HVAC like-for-like exemption was found. The repair and maintenance exemption does not allow enlargement.
  • Unconfirmed Fire. Montecito Fire Protection District has its own standards (defensible space zones 0 to 100 ft); nothing was found on condensers, vents or gas meters.
  • Unconfirmed Flood and debris flow. County floodplain rules say equipment must be designed or located to keep water out, with no set mounting height; Flood Control review of the permit was not read.
  • Unconfirmed Noise at the County level. County Chapter 40 covers nighttime loud sound (60 dB or clearly discernible at 100 ft); whether it applies to a condenser is uncertain, and no County daytime equipment limit was found.
  • Unconfirmed 3CE incentives. Heat pump HVAC rebates are open from 2026-10-01 and are first-come, first-served, but the 2026 dollar amounts could not be read (the 2025 flyer showed $2,000, or $3,000 income-qualified, and may be out of date).
  • Unconfirmed Permit paperwork. The County HVAC application checklist and how it handles energy forms (CF1R) and HERS verification were not found.

Amber marks are gaps, not rules. Ask County Planning and Development, and write down the answer and who gave it.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by any tool maker or equipment manufacturer. Illustration and links: lessons open in new tabs. The 3D pages need a browser with WebGL; their text, numbers and tool lists still work without it. Menus and versions move; this page reflects 28 Oct 2026.

No testimonials, ratings or invented records appear on this page. Counts come from the scene files and the 2026-10-28 verification summaries.

Questions about the package?Ask before you guess.

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