Should Your HVAC Technician Be NATE Certified?

NATE stands for North American Technician Excellence, a certification organization for repair technicians. Repair technicians that fix HVAC appliances can apply for and test for four levels of certification. You could hire a NATE-certified technician, but is it a must-have when you hire an HVAC technician to do repairs for you?

What a NATE Certification Does for Contractors

Contractors that pursue NATE certification can advertise their achieved levels of expertise. They can command a higher fee for services that they have this certification for. It’s also quite impressive to customers who are searching for someone with the expertise to fix the specific HVAC component the technician is NATE certified to fix.

What a NATE Certification Does for Customers

As a customer seeking expertise in fixing an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a furnace, etc., a NATE-certified technician is ideal. You know that this technician has passed rigorous training and testing to gain the certifications he or she has. The technician really knows their stuff about the HVAC equipment he or she has certification for. If you want a repair job done right the first time and you want it done perfectly, then a NATE-certified technician is exactly right for you. If you aren’t concerned with perfect repairs, or you don’t want to pay higher repair fees, then you can hire any qualified and licensed technician.

Not Every Technician Is Certified

Every licensed technician has some sort of degree. Some technicians have two-year degrees. Others have been trained by master repair experts and become licensed that way. Not every technician is NATE certified, which means that any technician you choose to hire can make repairs but has not necessarily taken any level of NATE certification. Not every NATE-certified technician will advertise that they have these certifications either, so you don’t really know unless you ask.