The Powerhouse of HVAC: Condensate Pumps

On August 4, 2023, in news, by Michael
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As our spaces grow increasingly comfortable with modern heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, we seldom stop to think about the unseen components working tirelessly in the background. One vital component is the condensate pump, a device designed to collect and dispose of the water generated during the cooling and heating process.

Tank Type Condensate Pumps: The Heavy-Duty Performers

Tank type condensate pumps are workhorses designed to handle substantial volumes of condensate. They’re commonly used in high-output systems, where the volume of water produced is significant.

These pumps feature a large, built-in reservoir that collects the condensate from your HVAC system. When the water level in the tank reaches a specific threshold, it triggers a switch that activates the pump. The pump then efficiently moves the water to a suitable drainage location.

An essential advantage of these pumps is their reliability. Engineered to handle the demands of continuous operation, they can operate under strenuous conditions without faltering. Moreover, their design is energy efficient, the pump only operates when necessary, reducing energy consumption and wear on the pump.

Mini Condensate Pumps: Compact Yet Powerful

When space is scarce, such as in ductless mini-split air conditioners or high-efficiency furnaces, a mini condensate pump is the perfect solution. These compact units may be small, but they pack quite a punch.

Like their larger counterparts, mini condensate pumps automatically activate when they detect condensate, saving energy by operating only when needed. Despite their size, they can handle a significant amount of condensate, ensuring your HVAC system operates smoothly.

Perhaps one of the most appealing features of mini condensate pumps is their quiet operation. They can be installed in a living room or an office without causing disturbance, while retaining the same reliability and durability as larger pumps.

Choosing the Right Condensate Pump

When it comes to choosing between a tank type and a mini condensate pump, it’s all about understanding your needs. If you have a high-output HVAC system that produces large volumes of condensate, a tank type pump would be the best choice. However, if you’re dealing with space constraints or need a pump for a smaller HVAC system, a mini condensate pump is the perfect fit.

The aim is to ensure that your HVAC system operates efficiently and lasts longer. Whether it’s a tank type or a mini pump, the right condensate pump will not only save you from potential water damage but will also contribute to the longevity and efficiency of your HVAC system.


While condensate pumps might seem like small cogs in the massive machinery of HVAC systems, their role is anything but minor. By efficiently handling condensate, these pumps protect your systems, your space, and your peace of mind. Be it the robust tank type pump or the compact mini pump, choosing the right one is an investment in comfort and reliability.

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Broan Products

On July 21, 2023, in news, by Michael
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We are thrilled to announce that we now have HRV and ERV products on our website made by Broan. Say goodbye to stale, polluted air in your homes with Broan’s state-of-the-art HRVs and ERVs. Promote a healthier and more inviting atmosphere for you and your loved ones with our selection of Broan products.

HRV and ERV products made by Fantech, Lifebreath, S&P and Aldes are also available.

Find out more about how HRVs and ERVs work, and which one is best for you here.

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HRVs and ERVs

On July 21, 2023, in news, by Michael
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What do HRVs and ERVs do?

HRVs and ERVs allows fresh air to get into the home, and makes stale air go out of the home. The fresh air coming in and the stale air going out travel through the HRV or ERV core, the stale air pre-conditions the fresh air as it’s coming in, and then the fresh air coming into the house is closer to the temperature inside of the house than before it comes in. This means that your house is conserving energy from having to heat or cool the fresh air coming into the house.

Why is this important?

According to the EPA, we spend approximately 90% of our time indoors, where the concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations. In order to combat this, it is important to have a constant airflow allowing air to travel in and out of the house. This filters out the stale, poluted air that has been sitting inside and replaces it with fresh air from outside.

What is the difference between an HRV and an ERV?

HRV is a heat recovery ventilator, the core does not allow for moisture to be transferred from one side of the core to the other. This means in humid conditions, the moisture of the fresh air is coming into your home. This will actually make your air conditioner work harder trying to get the moisture out of the air.

ERV is an energy recovery ventilator, the core allows the transfer of moisture from one side of the core to the other. This meanss that in humid conditions, part of the moisture of the fresh air is being transferred to the stale air going out, and your air conditioner doesn’t have to work as hard to get the moisture out of the air.

Which device is right for you?

This infographic can help determine if the HRV or the ERV is better for your home.

As you can see, in a majority of the United States, an HRV is recommended over the ERV. These are locations that are typically more dry with longer heating seasons.

As you get closer to the southeast of the United States, it is recommended to get an ERV as these locations are typically more humid with longer cooling seasons.

Click here for our available HRVs

Click here for our available ERVs

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Winter is here and with it so are higher energy bills. Are you looking for ways to cut energy costs and save money? Is there a room or area of the house that you rarely use? Do you like certain rooms to be kept warmer or colder than the rest? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then it might be time for you to zone control your home with Suncourt ZoneMaster™ Fully Adjustable Motorized Dampers.

ZoneMaster Adjustable Motorized Airflow Control Damper

WHAT DOES A MOTORIZED DAMPER DO? Motorized Dampers are mounted in duct-work to control the amount of airflow in the duct in order to zone control your home. Zone control refers to regulating the temperature in one single room or space. In other words, zone controlling your home allows you to send heated or cooled air to an area of the house when you need it, when you want it.

WHY DO I WANT TO ZONE CONTROL MY HOME? Increased comfort, control and lower utility bills. Would you control your entire house with 1 light switch? No! So why would you control the temperature for your entire home with one thermostat?

GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF HOW I WOULD SAVE MONEY: Why heat a guest room that you only occasionally use to 70°F all winter long, or cool it to 76°F all summer? Keep it instead at 55°F in the winter and 85°F in the summer. Same story for a bedroom. Like to sleep in a 64°F bedroom and keep the rest of the house at 70°F? During the cooling season you may want the room for the baby a little bit warmer than the rest of the house. The possibilities are endless.

HOW MUCH MONEY COULD I SAVE? Zone controlling a home can save homeowners up to 30% on a typical heating and cooling bill, according to the US Department of Energy. It is estimated that heating and cooling makes up 40% of the monthly energy bill.

WHAT MAKES SUNCOURT MOTORIZED DAMPERS DIFFERENT THAN THE REST? Suncourt’s patent pending adjustable damper has 0°- 90° adjustment capabilities for BOTH powered and unpowered positions providing full control of airflow to any specific room. A safe, UL listed 24 VAC 15 VA stud mount transformer is included with each damper sold by Suncourt for ease of installation. Suncourt dampers are proudly made in the USA.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Suncourt’s website: www.suncourt.com
ZoneMaster Motorized Damper Product Overview video: https://youtu.be/U6aP6SL6Mlo
ZoneMaster Motorized Damper Product Installation Video: https://youtu.be/ZSxEgMHDpzg
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/suncourt-inc/

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New Product from Vortex Powerfans

On September 16, 2019, in news, by Nicole
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Inline fans are installed in ducting and generally used to exhaust warm air out of your home or business, or boost airflow. Because they are engineered to work with ducting they will retain a greater percentage of their advertised capacity in comparison to basic extraction fans.

VMF800 Fan

The Vortex Powerfans VMF series are specifically designed to maximize the airflow performance with minimal noise levels in a small, compact housing. These fans incorporate a powerful mixed flow impeller and internal air vanes located at the discharge end of the fan housing. This impeller and guide vane combination provides a smooth laminar air flow which in turn minimizes turbulence and noise and generates an excellent air flow to static pressure performance ratio.

VAT800 Fan

Vortex Powerfans VAT series inline fans are axial in-line fans ideal for boosting airflow. These compact, powerful and quiet fans come completely wired with junction box, strain relief and power cord. Light weight and easy to install, they are fluted on both ends to ease connection to ducting.

Benefits of an inline are that the fan is located further away in the roof space and not directly above you. Furthermore if your roof space is well insulated its one of the quietest ventilation solutions available. Inline fans are also available in large sizes with very high power motors. Quite often this type of power is not available from a standard ceiling mounted or wall mounted extraction fan.

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Fantech Pro and Pro Plus Series

On August 16, 2019, in cool products, news, by Nicole
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Efficiency, quiet operation and ease of installation characterize both the PRO and PRO PLUS series. Both series are certified to the rigorous California Title 24 building energy code, as well as ETL/c-ETL, HVI, and Energy Star standards. The PRO Series operates at just 2.0 sones while the PRO PLUS is barely audible at 0.5 sones.

Sound levels are rated in sones where the lower the rating number, the quieter the fan. Typical economy fans are rated at about 4.0 sones or more. One sone is equivalent to the sound of a quiet refrigerator and a quiet bathroom fan will be rated at about 1.5 sones or less. This makes the PRO PLUS one of the most quiet bathroom fans on the market.

PRO Series offers three models with a ceiling grille and damper for airflow of 80, 100 or 150 CFM. The PRO 80 & 100 fans have a unique plug and play concept that allows you to add accessories such as a humidity sensor and LED light without changing the fan.

PRO PLUS has adjustable CFMs 80/90/110/140 with a ceiling grille, backdraft damper, humidity and motion sensor. It uses 6″ flexible duct. The product is provided with an adjustable 12-24″ bar hanger for ease of installation.

We have added videos on how to assemble our CFB and unboxing our Balanced Make-up Air System components. It is part of our ongoing goal to share new and interesting content and information to help you with your next project. What is a CFB? What is a Balanced Residential Make-up System? Lets break them down for you.

CFB Series MERV-13 Inline Filter Boxes

A CFB filter box is a high-performance solution for any application requiring in-line filtration. Constructed from 5052 H32 aluminum, the CFBs holds a standard 4″ filter and are designed to fit either 6″, 8″, 10″ or 12″ diameter duct. The lid attaches securely with latches, and opens easily for quick filter replacements. MERV-13 filters are included with every unit, but you can also upgrade to a MERV-15 filter. The higher the MERV rating the better the filtration and the cleaner the air will be in your home.

balanced make-up air system is designed to “make up” the air in your interior space that has been removed due to process exhaust fans. This type of HVAC solution pulls in fresh, tempered air from outside your building to replace existing air that cannot be recirculated. The International Residential Code (IRC) requires that makeup air be provided for kitchen hood exhaust systems with a capacity of 400 cfm or greater. Our balanced make-up air system can be customized to fit your needs with silencers, electric heater for cold climates and wall/roof caps.

Both provide better air filtration for your home to keep the air clean of allergens, smoke odors and particulates in the air, as well as provide the in-home air circulation that you need. You can check out our videos by clicking the links below.

CFB Assembly Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkl7OS8g-hI

Balanced Make-up Air System Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcLffEHe58c

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New Product KoldWave Portable AC

On May 2, 2019, in news, by Nicole
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KoldWave 5WK14 Water-Cooled Portable Air Conditioner

KoldWave products boast to be rugged, reliable and responsible. Able to withstand the abuse of the work environment and provide you the comfort you need.

KoldWave HKV Vertical Air-Cooled Portable AC is typically used for through-the-wall tent applications. The standard bi-directional free-blow grille arrangement distributes the air inside the tent. Optional plenum duct adapters extend the versatility of the units for other applications or where the tent structure must be ducted. Other applications include manufacturing processes or temporary spot cooling/heating.

If you are not needing to cool a tent perhaps the 5WK14 Water-Cooled Portable Air Conditioner is right for you. It is well suited for smaller areas such as offices and enclosed work areas. It is quiet yet efficient, delivering 10,800 BTU/HR of cooling and 12,200 BTU/HR of heating to spaces that need spot, supplemental, temporary, or emergency cooling.

When you need a more powerful spot cooler, the 6KK61 and 6KK92 Air-Cooled Portable Air Conditioners deliver the supplemental cooling you’re looking for. These units are simple to install and operate, offering customers a cooling capacity of 61,000 BTU/HR (6KK61) and 92,000 BTU/HR (6KK92). Rugged yet quiet these perform well in just about any application.

Watch our unboxing video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-shcgnbWB8

KoldWave 6SS12 and 6SS24 Split System Water-Cooled Portable Air Conditioner

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Online Grille Creator

On April 26, 2019, in news, by Nicole
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Our updated online grille creator.

We talked about it earlier in this blog in January and our updated online grille creator is now here! It is live and ready for your use. We have a video on our YouTube channel on how to navigate the online creator and where to find it on our website (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3tkyFIEezw). This is perfect for do-it-yourselfers, contractors and installers alike.

Now that our custom grilles have been upgraded we have more patterns and materials available! These stylish grilles come in the following patterns and materials:

Flat circular grille in aluminum with a Honeycomb pattern.

 

 

Patterns

Tear, Honeycomb, Grecian, Linked Circles, Circle in Square, Parquet, Diamond, Circles, Mulit-Circle, Craftsman, Rectangles

Materials

Acrylic (Black), ABS (Grained Black), ABS (Grained White), Aluminum, Geo Tone, Bamboo

Installed Craftsman pattern in black acrylic.

Your project deserves a personal and stylish flair and with our grilles, you will get just that. Whether your vent is circular, rectangle, or square we’ve got you covered. With our online interface we put the controls to make grilles in your hands, to your exact specifications. Indoor or outdoor, ready to install, or paint. Place your order and we will send it to you quickly and efficiently. What are you waiting for? Hop on over and give it a try now.

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