In California, some buy machines that make water out of air

[RandySF]

BENICIA, Calif. (AP) — The machine Ted Bowman helped design can make water out of the air, and in parched California, some homeowners are already buying the pricey devices.

The air-to-water systems work like air conditioners by using coils to chill air, then collect water drops in a basin.

“Our motto is, water from air isn’t magic, it’s science, and that’s really what we’re doing with these machines,” said Ted Bowman, design engineer at Washington state-based Tsunami Products.

The system is one of several that have been developed in recent years to extract water from humidity in the air. Other inventions include mesh nets, solar panels and shipping containers that harvest moisture from the air.

Bowman said his company’s machines — made for use at homes, offices, ranches and elsewhere — dehumidify the air and in doing so create water that’s filtered to make it drinkable.

The technology works especially well in foggy areas and depending on the size can produce between 200 gallons (900 liters) and 1,900 gallons (8,600 liters) of water a day. The machines also operate efficiently in any area with high humidity, including California’s coastline, he said.




https://apnews.com/article/science-technology-lifestyle-business-california-bf3a376a4a23ab4ac88dfdb834613114?utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=AP

[BigmanPigman]

1. My dad had one of those in the den when I was

growing up. He called it a dehumidifier.

[FreepFryer]

2. Yeah but it was a real pain in the ass to clean after making Hi-C in it :) (nt)

[Duppers]

8. Yep, dehumidifiers! 😁

I remember those.

[LeftInTX]

3. Yeah.....I'm skeptical...My A/C cranks out 15 gallons per days when it's hot

But it takes takes 3,000-5,000 gallons to water my lawn.

I have a small bed, where I can pump/divert the water. It's usually enough water for a shrub or two, but not much more.

[msongs]

4. when the price drops to a few thousand it will be a big hit cuz any reduction in

colorado river water use is good

[Demovictory9]

5. had no ideas these machines existed.

[harumph]

12. basically a dehumidifier - cold coils condense moisture

out of the air, similar to the tumbler of a poolside drink.
Problem is, they consume considerable electricity for the amount of
condensed water you get.

[PoliticAverse]

6. The fine print...

The units use a lot of electricity to run.

They work best in areas of high humidity/high temperature).

In areas where it is cold they don't work well at all.

If you have any source of water (dirty water, rainwater, even seawater) there are usually cheaper ways to get purified water.

For fun peruse youtube with search term: atmospheric water

[GPV]

7. I knew it would come to this. Very Star Wars.

[Girard442]

9. I used to use water from my dehumidifier to wash printed circuit boards.

It's basically distilled water. Leaves no residue when it dries.

[Klaralven]

10. In California, some buy machines that make water out of ELECTRICITY

I.e. some combination of natural gas, nuclear, solar, wind, hydro, and coal...

[NQAS]

11. Sounds like a dehumidifier

Been around for ages.

[MineralMan]

13. We had one of those in our basement for years.

Nothing new about it. It's a refrigeration cycle dehumidifier. I emptied its catch container almost every day. The machine, itself, was pretty expensive, and the electricity needed to run what amounted to a small air conditioner was costly.

You can buy a dehumidifier just about anywhere, but it doesn't make much water for the cost of the equipment and the power to run it.