Robert Potorti owns a small restoration company in Southern Indiana. His mother lived in Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia), and she wanted a small heater for her living room. Robert wanted to send her a new combination portable air conditioner-heat pump.  Just so there would be no confusion, he ordered two units (exactly the same make and model); there would be one for his office and one for his mother’s living room. If she had questions, he would be able to answer them remotely from Indiana.

When he used the machine, he was surprised to find out that a substantial amount of condensate water was generated, even in the heat pump mode; worse yet, the water came out at the bottom of the machine (about an inch and a third higher than the floor). He didn’t want his 90 year old mother bending down on the floor with a pie pan, and trying to carry water that would dump rather easily to the kitchen sink. So he went on line to buy something that would solve the problem, but as much as he looked, there was nothing available anywhere.

How could it be that no one made such a device? Why would they have a remote control for the unit, but yet no automatic way of emptying the condensate water? It needed rethinking.

Water would accumulate in the summer and the winter. Even though there is an evaporative system when in the air conditioner mode, water can still accumulate when you least expect it, making the machine somewhat undependable.

It was suggested (by Andrew Selter, Robert’s Lead Manager for the first business) to bring the advances that were created to the marketplace. Robert designed a pumping system that went through numerous changes and testing until production was ready to start. At the same time testing was being done on a kit that would insulate the air exit hose and widow opening; it had to insulate well and have an appearance that would be acceptable in someone’s living room. It also had to be as user friendly as possible. Most of all, it could not be prohibitively costly. These were difficult tasks as no company to date had been able to accomplish these objectives.

Surveys showed that people were too often upset at the condensate issue as well as their machine’s lack of ability to adequately cool their living space. Increasing efficiency is one path to better performance as well as savings in electric (mostly during peak demand times).

To date a patent is pending that will allow a pump system to keep water from freezing in the line during winter months as well as insulating the hose and window in a way that looks acceptable and is as user friendly as possible, yet can work with the vast majority of brands and window sizes (this along with other technical advances are included in the patent application).

EM Global was hired to develop a market for products that had not existed before. This means a marketing campaign from the ground up as the public gets educated as to how we can solve some frustrating problems.

The second half of 2018, is when the insulation kits are expected to come on line (the website only at first).

So if at all possible, try to arrange it so make-up air is pulled from the coolest source possible. This means closing off all possible air leaks and perhaps leaving a basement door slightly opened. Or maybe if you are using the unit in an unconditioned attic, you have a small fan move air up from the conditioned area below.  When in the heat pump mode, sometimes it is best to draw air from a kitchen area. In all cases, it is best to seal up all cracks and leaks except for the area you want to draw air from.

With our pump kits, we have Growth Inhibitor that is meant to keep your drainage system operating smoothly and trouble free, however inside the machine (where the solution can’t go) it can clog rather easily.  Every so often, it is best to take the back of your machine off (or have a qualified technician do it, depending on what manufacture indicates), and clean the coils, pans, and air passages.  The frequency this happens depends on how dusty the environment is, if all the coils have filters in the machine, if microscopic plants have started to grow in the water and how much you use the machine.

Late September is the time we are expecting the insulation kits to be for sale on our website.