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FAIRFIELD — Kennebec Valley Community College has launched a Heat Pump Training Lab, which will expand the college’s capacity to train future heat pump installers and repair technicians.
The lab is on the Alfond Campus in the Hinckley neighborhood of Fairfield, and accommodates 10 comprehensive stations of heat pump training equipment. The specialized lab dramatically expands student capacity not only for the degree and certificate programs in plumbing, HVAC and Sustainable Energy Systems, but also for short-term training through the KVCC Institute for Workforce Training and Professional Development.
The state-of-the-art lab was constructed by KVCC staff along with the faculty in the Electrical Technology and HVAC programs. Students from the KVCC Timber Frame Carpentry program designed and constructed each workstation. This initiative was financed by the KVCC Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic arm of KVCC. The development of this new lab was in direct response to the state’s heat pump bill, signed into law at KVCC in June 2019, aiming to implement more energy-efficient heating solutions for Maine homeowners and businesses.
The newly constructed lab space is more than 2,000 square feet, allowing the college to more than triple its heat pump course offerings, enabling dozens more Mainers to study heat pump installation and maintenance each year. This increased training capacity will directly contribute to increasing the skilled workforce necessary to meet the increasing demand for heat pumps by Maine homeowners and businesses. KVCC’s expanded heat pump training capacity will help the state stay on track to reach the goal of the 2019 bill — to ensure the installation of 100,000 heat pumps across Maine by 2025.
Heat pump installation and maintenance training courses are available as part of both academic (degree) and professional development programs. For more information, kvcc.me.edu/workforce.
