Stay cool while saving at the pumps
Centreville man invents a vehicle air conditioner that doesn't run on gasoline
Four years and 10 prototypes later, a Centreville businessman has invented a way to keep cool, save money and spare the environment.
Dana Billings, owner of Centreville Auto Service – which will officially open in a couple of weeks – has created a small, plastic contraption called the Air Port. It is the cheapest air conditioner in the world.
"This is the only product like this on the market," he said. "It works only when the vehicle is moving, and the air gets colder and faster as you go. It catches cold air, multiplies and conditions the car."
Vehicle air conditioners use up about seven to eight horsepower to run, Billings explained, and drivers also lose between three- to five-miles per gallon of gas. The Air Port doesn't use gasoline. The local inventor said the financial benefits of using the product include not spending as much at the pumps, and, "it should pay for itself within a year."
The environmental benefits are so extreme, Billings added, the David Suzuki Foundation is also promoting the item, and $1 from each Air Port sold will go to the foundation.
The Air Port is 100 per cent Canadian. Billings said he tried to prepare the product with as much local input as possible.
"The guy who did the patent lives near Fredericton," he said. "I had a 30-second advertisement, which featured on ATV last year. And the screws that it's assembled with are made locally here at Guest Screw Machine (Products) up in Bath.
"It's a simple item," he added. "In the scope of the whole world it's still a small item, but it's big to me because there are a lot of items that are just scams that don't work and this works."
Billings has put thousands of his hard-earned dollars into inventing the Air Port. He hasn't been able to acquire government funds, but said there may be some money available for market research in the southern United States. Billings has also had one interested buyer from the U.S., but all rights would have been transferred to the American owner.
Right now, he added, "I'm looking for a large distributor that can handle the U.S. and Canada or a couple to handle each."
An inconvenience creates an idea which turns into a product
Four years ago, Billings's air conditioner stopped working. He decided to make his own and went through 10 prototypes. The current invention was finalized last year, but he missed the summer market because the plastics company completing the mold was extremely busy.
Although Billings isn't a self-proclaimed salesman, he said he wants to be ready for this year's market. He has already sold several Air Ports, and, as a vendor at the Hartland Fire Department Trade Show, was able to sell a few and get the word out.
The Air Port will be available for purchase at Billings's garage business. It was closed down for 10 years, and, after leasing the space for a while, the facility sat empty for two years. Centreville Auto Service will soon be open and will offer the public automobile service, a car wash and the locally made invention.
For $39.99, plus taxes, anyone interested in saving money and helping the environment can purchase the Air Port by visiting Billings's Web site at www.canadiangreenproducts.ca or by calling Canadian Green Products, which can be reached by dialing the same number as Centreville Auto Service – (506) 276-3555.
Billings also wanted potential buyers to be aware that the Air Port will not fit on a vehicle window if drivers have added an after-market part, such as a vent shade, which keeps the rain from coming in when the window is rolled down a couple of inches. The space required for the shade is the same space needed to install the Air Port.
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