After 10 years of research and development, a group of American engineers from the Source company have created a hydropanel – a solar panel-based device that can extract water directly from the air.
Externally, the Hydropanel device resembles a classic solar panel. In fact, it also includes one. But the end user receives water instead of electricity. The built-in solar panel generates electricity, which is used to operate the fans. The latter drive the outside air through a special hygroscopic material. It is on this that the moisture contained in the air settles, and then the solar energy is used again so that the fans blow through the air already saturated with moisture.
A special temperature controller built into the hydropanel ensures that the dew point is higher than the outside air temperature. As a result, the development team managed to achieve effective passive concentration of water from the air surrounding the panel. It is stated that such a panel, which does not require external power, can produce up to 3 liters of water per day and is effective even in such arid places as Arizona.
Hydropanel technology can be scaled up to provide water to homes, schools or some remote places where there is difficulty with water supply, delivery or drilling wells. And now the manufacturer Source has already installed hydropanels in 56 countries. It is worth noting that the resulting water needs additional mineralization. The manufacturer indicates that the hydropanel does not only this, but also sterilizes the water with ozonation.
To demonstrate the efficiency of mass installation, Source deployed an array of their hydro panels at a construction site in Florida, and it produces 3,000 liters of water daily, which is then bottled by Source and sold on the American market under the SKY WTR brand.
At the moment, the declared price of one set of hydropanels starts from 3900 US dollars.
Source : source
