Taking this scarce resource for granted will soon be a thing of the past and this time of crisis, we have the opportunity to turn to innovation and gain peace of mind with off-grid water solutions – water from air.
By Rutger-Jan van Spaandonk for WaterGen.
The Trammps made light of the 1977 blackout in their song Where were you when the lights went out in New York City?, but it is doubtful that South Africans will respond as cheerfully when taps eventually run dry.
Problem is, these solutions don’t necessarily change the equation.
It is entirely “new” water, and consuming it does not affect existing water resources.
To do so requires the installation of an Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG).
Most of them are essentially modified air conditioning units.
The problem is that with condensation being an unwanted by-product of cooling, air conditioners are optimised to produce as little as possible.
However, Watergen’s proprietary GENius technology allows for water generation from the air at conversion rates of around 250 to 300 Wh/L from units that produce up to 6,000 litres per day, making them the most energy-efficient and largest dehumidification devices available in the market today: Watergen’s units use four to five times less energy, and produce at least more than three times the amount of water compared to other AWGs.
True water security can be achieved by installing Watergen AWGs as a supplementary and backup solution to municipal and borehole water supply, providing peace of mind that even in the direst circumstances one has unhindered access to the highest quality drinking water.