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BURNABY, B.C. – The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) School of Construction and the Environment is launching a new heat pump installation microcredential program.

�ճ���� is a collaboration with the Thermal Environmental Comfort Association (TECA) and Home Performance Stakeholder Council to upskill existing tradespeople to install heat pumps in residential homes. 

“The Residential Air to Air Heat Pump Specialist microcredential is designed to train individuals with existing trade qualifications such as plumbers, gasfitters, and sheet metal workers on the design and installation of heat pump systems in part 9 buildings,” TECA past-president Gary Milligan said in a statement.

“This microcredential combines refrigeration theory, system selection and design, best practices for all aspects of an installation and in-lab training to learn the physical competencies required to safely install modern residential heat pump systems that perform to their maximum potential.”

Graduates of the part-time program will be qualified to install any heat pump systems excluded from the BC Safety Act.

Heat pumps are an energy-efficient alternative to other home heating systems and provide heating and cooling in one system, the release said, and are 300 per cent more efficient than electric baseboard heaters and 50 per cent more efficient for cooling compared to a typical window air conditioning unit.