"Why would I need a condensate pump?"
A condensate pump is very crucial because with air conditioners you are dehumidifying. When you dehumidify the air, water is the byproduct of doing that. That water needs to go somewhere, that is why we have drain lines. You need a condensate pump when that drain line is not naturally going down to the outside of the home.
For example: my house, I have a small 1300 sq. ft. house but it is so low under the house that by the time the condensate line comes out it does not have enough grade, or it does not slope down enough to get outside and let the water exit. We have a condensate pump because if I didn’t have one the condensate line would be in a straight line. Water does not drain by going sideways or uphill, it goes to the condensate pump and the pump then pumps it out to the outside.
The most common pumps can go with a 15 or 22 ft. lift. If you have a basement, or that low house, you are having a problem with that condensate line because it cannot grade enough to get to the outside, so then you need a condensate pump to push it out for you.
The most common problem is the low house, obviously you don’t have these on package units, you have these on split units. So, you have that low house that basically, depending on where that unit is sitting, you can’t get to the outside fast enough for it to still be downhill. You feed into a condensate pump and then that pushes the water out.
Your friend in comfort and energy savings,
Derek Cole
Derek Cole is the General Manager of One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning®, an independently owned and operated franchise based in Laurinburg, North Carolina since 1953 and named to the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in 2016. He has more than 15 years of experience in the HVAC industry and has created two You Tube broadcasts, The Comfort Experts and #AskDerekCole, filled with tips and tricks on saving energy and being comfortable. He was named the Top 40 under 40 in the HVAC industry by the News magazine and featured in Entrepreneur Magazine Franchise Player Spotlight. Derek has also been seen on CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, Huffington Post, and Bloomberg Business sharing about One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® and home comfort tips.