HVAC and Maintenance Students Train at Uponor

Training covers radiant floor heating

Students in the HVAC & Refrigeration Technology and Industrial & Energy Plant Maintenance programs at Dakota County Technical College attended two sessions of Radiant Floor Heating Training April 6–7, 2017, at the Uponor North American Training Center, an 11,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

Torry Jeranek, HVAC faculty at the college, has been taking his students to Uponor’s world-class training center for eight years. Last year, he invited Duane Ness and his Maintenance students to participate in the training.

“Duane and I see the training sessions at Uponor as very beneficial to our students,” Jeranek said. “Uponor offers the training to all technical colleges every spring. We will likely be attending the sessions every year heading forward.”

More about the training…

According to Uponor Radiant Floor Heating FAQs, “In a radiant floor heating system, warm water flows through flexible plastic tubing called PEX that is located underneath or within the floors. (PEX is an acronym for crosslinked polyethylene.) The PEX tubing carries the warm water into specific rooms or ‘zones’ to effectively heat people and objects in every corner of the room.”

DCTC students covered several radiant floor heating training topics, including:
  • Overview of hydronic radiant heating
  • Heat-loss analysis
  • System types
  • Heat sources
  • Installation methods
  • Distributions options
  • Controls overview
  • System design and layout
  • Troubleshooting

The training sessions also provided lunch, a tour of the Uponor manufacturing facility and a copy of Uponor’s Complete Design Assistance Manual (CDAM).

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers

Install, repair, and maintain the building systems that control temperature.
WAGE

Above the statewide median of $18.88/hour
Minnesota

Median: $25.12/hour
High: $30.76/hour

Seven-county Twin Cities metro

Median: $27.53/hour
High: $34.92/hour

OUTLOOK

This career is currently in high demand and is seeing high growth compared to other careers. There will be a need for about 570 new Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers to meet market demand between 2014–2024. This includes the demand due to replacement (workers leaving the occupation or retiring) as well as growth.

— Minnesota State CAREERwise Education

Radiant Floor Heating Training gallery *

* All photos courtesy of Doreen Nord, Graphic Designer | Photographer, Uponor North America

Industrial Machinery Mechanics

Repair, install, or adjust manufacturing equipment.
WAGE

Above the statewide median of $18.88/hour
Minnesota

Median: $25.21/hour/hour
High: $30.03

Seven-county Twin Cities metro

Median: $26.26/hour
High: $30.07/hour

OUTLOOK

This career is currently in very high demand and is seeing very high growth compared to other careers. There will be a need for about 2,490 new Industrial Machinery Mechanics to meet market demand between 2014–2024. This includes the demand due to replacement (workers leaving the occupation or retiring) as well as growth.

— Minnesota State CAREERwise Education

To learn more about the HVAC & Refrigeration Technology program at DCTC, contact:

Torry Jeranek
HVAC & Refrigeration TechnologyFaculty
651-423-8362

To learn more about the Industrial & Energy Plant Maintenance program at DCTC, contact:

Duane Ness
Industrial & Energy Plant Maintenance Faculty
651-423-8459

Donald Deutsch
Industrial & Energy Plant Maintenance Faculty
651-423-8468