Producing drinking water from scratch, using only solar energy. It is not science fiction but an already existing technology. It is called SunGlacier DC03 and is a special cone that extracts and collects humidity from the air using clean energy. A solution that could guarantee water in the areas of the world where it is lacking
Producing drinking water from scratch, exploiting only thesolar power. It is not science fiction but an already existing possibility. Is called SunGlacier Watercube DC03 and it is a special cone that extracts and collects humidity from the air by exploiting clean energy. A solution that could guarantee water in the areas of the world where it is lacking.
An old acquaintance of ours conceives it, Ap Verheggen, who has spent the past decade designing devices that harness the potential of the sun to extract water from the air, including the famous desert leaf.
This time, however, it is not just a sketch, a draft on paper. The last one project, it's real and available online. Is called Sunglacier DC03 and allows you to produce a small amount of clean water every day. The device is supplied without battery, without fans or inverters, and without moving parts that could be easily damaged.
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“We were able to produce solar water without a fan, a battery or a converter: directly connected to a solar panel. This means that we have just taken the first steps in developing an extremely economical, maintenance-free solar device. There are no moving parts " explains the team.
The DC03 produces energy thanks to a 18W Peltier cell. The latter is a small tile that acts as a heat pump: one of the two surfaces absorbs heat while the other emits it.
WaterCube by SunGlacier – Ap Verheggen from sunglacier on Vimeo.
If it connects to electricity, it becomes hot on one side and cold on the other. The cold side is used to cool a cone. When the air reaches the cold cone, the humidity in the air begins to condense and produces water droplets.
In turn, the water drops, by gravity, into a small container. At the moment, the device manages to produce about half a glass of water every 6 hours, not much but it is something. DC03 was designed to operate only during daylight hours, reducing the need for a battery.
The first step towards clean solutions that could bring water to areas of the world that lack it.
Francesca Mancuso
