OTGD: Squeezing Water From Air
Part of our Off the Grid Development Series
It is becoming clear with growth and development that water is no longer something we can take for granted, and not just any water but most importantly – fresh water. Take a look at this innovative device called the WaterMill from Element Four based in Kelowna, British Columbia Canada!
Their premise:
Our air contains 4,000 cubic miles of water. If it were a lake it would be roughly the size of the Great Lakes combined – which is the world’s largest body of fresh water – and would be constantly refilled.
This revolutionary device extracts water from the air, producing 12 liters of drinkable water each day on a 300 watt generator. Originally designed for residential use, it mounts to the exterior of a home creating a cost effective source for drinking and cooking. It is also very energy efficient. At 12 cents per kWh, that translates into about 7 cents per liter. Even when you add the cost of the device (approx. $1200) divided by the number of liters it could produce over 5 years you get your water for about 15 cents a liter.
There are two key innovations with this device.
- A system of temperature, pressure, and humidity sensors that feeds into a microcontroller, makes the device automatically adapt to its environment. The microcontroller fine-tunes the flow of air and refrigerant in the machine to match its surroundings so that it continues to work in extremes of heat and cold, inside or outside.
- The control system’s improved efficiency lets the machine use a bare condensation coil, unlike other such devices, which use cooling fins. Finned coils could harbor bacteria, but a bare coil can be kept sterile using the same ultraviolet lamp that kills bugs in the collected water.
I don’t know about you but this is truly innovative thinking, and could be great for off the grid development. Having one of these devices hooked to a residence will give clean fresh water to inhabitants. Plus, add in solar power to run the device when required and you have got a self sufficient clean water system. Element for is also now working on commercial watermill systems.
Hat Tip: Off Grid . net
Popularity: 1% [?]