North American Technician Excellence (NATE)
Air Conditioning Service
Credential: Air Conditioning Service
Credentialing Agency: North American Technician Excellence (NATE)
Renewal Period: 2 years
North American Technician Excellence (NATE), Air Conditioning Service certification is designed for top level service technicians in the HVAC industry. Air Conditioning Service technicians acquire, evaluate, and interpret necessary readings to determine adequacy and acceptability of meeting system operation specifications, power up and adjust control settings to cycle equipment through all designed-for sequences, and perform sufficient field diagnostic procedures to determine causes of inadequate performance and identify corrective actions. There are no formal education or experience requirements; however, candidates should have knowledge of the installation, service, maintenance, and repair of HVAC systems that are limited to 30 tons or less cooling capacity. Candidates must pass a NATE core exam and air conditioning service specialty exam. This certification is not intended for the HVAC system designer, sales force, or engineering community.
More information can be found on the certifying agency's website.
Air Conditioning Service
Attainability: 
Eligibility Requirements (View Details)
- Credential Prerequisite
- Experience: 2 years recommended
- Education
- Training: Recommended
- Membership
- Other
- Fee
Note: This credential may have multiple options for a Service member to meet eligibility requirements. Requirements listed here are based on the minimum degree required.
To view other options, see the Eligibility tab.
Exam Requirements (View Details)
- Exam
- Written Exam
- Oral Exam
- Practical Exam
- Performance Assessment
Exam Administration (View Details)
- In-person exam
- Remote proctored on-line exam
- Third-party test vendor
Renewal Period: 2 years
- Continuing Education
- Exam
- Continuing Education OR Exam
- Fee
- Other
North American Technician Excellence (NATE)
2311 Wilson Blvd.
Suite 410
Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: (877) 420-NATE
Fax: (571) 282-0973
Email: asknate@natex.org
There are no formal education or experience requirements. However, NATE recommends that the candidate have two years of field experience working on air conditioning systems as a service technician and have technical training of theoretical knowledge related to the installation, service, maintenance, and repair of HVAC systems that are limited to 30 tons or less of cooling capacity.
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Safety (18%)
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Complying with Government Regulations
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Personal Safety and Work Practices
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Personal Safety Around Moving Machinery
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Electrical Safety
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Safety Brazing and Soldering Practices
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Safe Handling of Containers
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Understanding Hazmat
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Tools (10%)
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Basic Construction (8%)
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Plans and Specifications
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Plumbing (Piping) Layouts
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Room Specs - Clear Span and Ceiling Heights
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Roofing
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Ceilings
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Walls
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Floors
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Fenestration
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Girders and Trusses
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Chimneys
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Using Basic Science (10%)
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Chemistry Basics
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Electrons in Electricity
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Electrical Basic Terms
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Magnetism
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AC and DC Circuits
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Basic Circuit Analysis
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Electricity - Generation and Distribution
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Solid State Electronics
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Pressure Measurements
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Mathematics
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Mechanics
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Gas Laws
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Electrical Load Types
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Power
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Achieving Desired Conditions (14%)
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Temperature
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Humidity
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Air Quality
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Sound
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Taking Temperature and Humidity Measurements (14%)
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Physical Measurements - Temperature and Heat
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Thermometers
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Humidity Measurement Calculations
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Basic Electricity (26%)
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Symbols
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Field Wiring Diagrams
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Pictorial Diagrams
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Schematic (Ladder) Diagrams
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Single Phase Motors
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Three Phase Motors
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Variable Speed Motors
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Actuator Motors
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Digital Electrical Meters
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Installation (15%)
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Fabricating Copper Tubing
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Installing Condensing Unit
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Installing Packaged Units
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Installing Indoor Equipment
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Evacuation and Charging
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Duct Installation
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Installing Accessories
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Field Wiring
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Start-up and Checkout
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Refrigerant Circuit Tools
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Recovery/Recycling Machines
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Airflow Measurements
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Service (45%)
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Planned Maintenance
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Diagnostics
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Overview of Electrical Troubleshooting
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Retrofitting
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Air Balancing
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Basic HVAC System Analysis
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Analyzing Reported Symptoms in Cooling
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System Components (25%)
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Introduction to Systems
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Duct Systems
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Wiring Layouts
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Components
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Electromechanical Sensing Controls
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Refrigerant Circuit Controls
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Non-Sensing Controls
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Electronic Controls
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Applied Knowledge (15%)
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Air Quality Regulations
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Electrical Code
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State and Local Regulations and Codes
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Fire Protection Regulations and Codes
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Design Considerations - Comfort
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Design Considerations - Components
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Design Considerations - Residential and Light Commercial
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Mechanical Code
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Industry Standards
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Bids and Proposals
There are a number of resources available to help you prepare for the Air Conditioning Service examination:
An additional resource is O'Reilly Learning Safari Books Online, a searchable digital library that provides online access to thousands of books, training videos and conference sessions. See the Educational Resources section on the
Related Sites page here on COOL to learn how to get free access.
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Exam Administration
Credential exams may be administered in-person at a testing site, proctored on-line remotely, or have options for both. If an exam is administered through a test vendor, the third-party test vendor box will be checked. The following test administration options apply to the Air Conditioning Service credential where checked:
- In-person exam
- Remote proctored on-line exam
- Third-party test vendor
Air Conditioning Service
Renewal Period: 2 years
The Air Conditioning Service credential has the following recertification information:
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The Air Conditioning Service certification is renewed every two years. Certification holders must complete 16 continuing education hours (CEHs), submit the application for recertification, and pay a recertification fee or retake the Air Conditioning Service exam and pay applicable testing fees before the certification lapses.
Additional information can be found on the NATE website.
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Note: Marine Corps COOL will only pay recertification fees for the current year, no arrears will be paid.
Voucher requests for recertification fees must be submitted with proof of the current status of the certification (for example, a screen shot of your
credentialing agency dashboard or a copy of a current fee receipt).
MOS is Military Occupational Specialty
ASI is Additional Skill Identifier
WOMOS is Warrant Officer Military Occupational Specialty
AOC is Area Of Concentration Officer
Functional Area
Branch
Bright Outlook – new job opportunities are very likely in the future for this job
This is an official U.S. Marine Corps website
Updated: January 29, 2021
Marine Occupations Table Legend
Related As
The military occupations shown in this table are related to this credential in one of three ways: Most, Some, or Other.
MOST
This credential is directly related to most of the major duties associated with the military occupation (at least 80%). Note that the credential may require additional education, training or experience before you are eligible for it.
SOME
This credential is related to some tasks associated with the duties of the military occupation (related 80% to at least one or more critical tasks but less than 80% of all of the entire military occupation). Note that the credential may require additional education, training or experience before you are eligible for it.
OTHER
This credential is related to this military occupation, but is more advanced or specialized and therefore will most likely require additional education, training, or experience.
COOL$
Contact usmccool@navy.mil or call 850-452-6337/6583 for a Marine Corps COOL Program Analyst.
Federal Occupations Table Legend
Related As
The federal occupations shown in this table are related to this credential in one of three ways: Most, Some, or Other.
MOST
This credential is directly related to most of the major duties associated with the federal occupation (at least 80%). Note that the credential may require additional education, training or experience before you are eligible for it.
SOME
This credential is related to some tasks associated with the duties of the federal occupation (related 80% to at least one or more critical tasks but less than 80% of all of the entire military occupation). Note that the credential may require additional education, training or experience before you are eligible for it.
OTHER
This credential is related to this federal occupation, but is more advanced or specialized and therefore will most likely require additional education, training, or experience.
Civilian Occupations Table Legend
Bright Outlook
The Bright Outlook icon indicates that new job opportunities are very likely in the future for this job. Click the links in this column to go to the external link My Next Move For Veterans State Map.
Registered Apprenticeship
The Registered Apprenticeship icon indicates that this job has an apprenticeship program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor. Click the links in this column to go to the Apprenticeship Finder and enter career path or location to find apprenticeship opportunities
Local Salary Information
Click the links in this column to go to the external link My Next Move for Veterans web site to view salary and employment information for the job.
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