Water is a vital resource. Yet many countries worldwide face severe water shortages every year. And not just developing countries — just think of the Flint, Michigan crisis.
Imagine pulling clean, drinkable water right out of thin air! Sounds like something from Dune or Star Wars, but Atmospheric Water Generation is very real. And thanks to some major scientific leaps, AWG technology may soon find its way to your home!
Today, we’re going to explore three promising AWG breakthroughs. Could these technologies solve at-home water independence AND global water shortages?
Let’s dive in!
So, to begin with — how can the Blue planet have water shortages?
Yes, water covers 70% of our planet, but we’re only able to use about 3%.
The rest of it ends up in our oceans. We’ve done a whole video on desalination, so you should definitely check that out.
But the stark truth is that for now, the amount of usable water… is shrinking.
Reasons include population growth — more and more people using up water supplies. That gets compounded when you factor in agriculture — which uses up about 70-80% of our water already! [LINK}
In the US alone — leaky pipies waste roughly 6 billion gallons of water per day! [LINK] Our house alone had a 400 gallon per day leak we didn’t even know about, until I got a water meter and tracked it down. Video link in the description.
Climate change-related droughts also factor in, as clouds move away from the equator and towards the poles — leaving already vulnerable regions high and dry
At the time of this video, 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to clean water, and nearly 2.7 billion live in water-scarce areas. Some estimates predict that by 2050, roughly 87 countries will be in a state of water scarcity.
We’re like a kid looking through the window of a candy store. We know everything we want is waiting right within reach… but we just can’t grasp it.
But if water is so abundant — why can’t we get to it?
Right now, about 30% of Earth’s fresh water lies deep underground in aquifers. While many developed countries have the technology and infrastructure to dig wells — not every country does. Even in developed places like California, most of our fresh water comes from out of state. Geopolitics, water management, and budget can all play major factors in accessing clean water.
As we mentioned, extracting water from the ocean is possible through desalination, which will likely play a vital role in coming years. But, the process can be expensive and require loads of energy.
But the ocean isn’t the only place to find useable water. In fact, there is an enormous pool of water literally surrounding you right now.
The Earth’s atmosphere.
It’s estimated that our atmosphere carries about 12,900 cubic kilometers of water at any given time [LINK1 LINK2] — that’s about 3x the amount of water humans consume annually! (4,370 cubic kilometers).
So, like the kid looking into the candy store, the question isn’t what we want… but how we get it.
Let’s step back and talk about how air from water systems work and the different physical properties at play. First — it’s not the heat, its the humidity. Absolute humidity is the amount of moisture in the air, but it’s not as useful as you might think. That’s because the air’s ability to hold water is largely due to temperature. Oh… so maybe it is the heat?
This graph shows how many kg of water 1 kg of air can hold at different temperatures.
Interestingly at 0C there’s nearly no water in the air, giving the air that bitter cold sensation that hurts your lungs when you breathe in. As temperatures rise, air can hold more water. So instead of absolute humidity, it’s more helpful to talk about relative humidity, how much water is in the air vs how much it could possibly hold at a given temperature.
Next is the dew point, which is the temperature at which the air is saturated with water, meaning 100% relative humidity. Here, water condenses out of the air, since the air can’t hold any more. Picture a kitchen sponge. When dry it can soak up water, but once it fills up, it can’t hold any more.. The air works the same way.
So by tweaking this dew point, and exploiting this phenomenon we can extract water out of air. This is at the heart of all the various breakthrough’s we’ll talk about today.
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First up is a system by Tsunami Products, which uses forced-condenser systems. These work similar to your refrigerator or AC unit.
The machines pull in moist, ambient air through a series of condensing coils, where the water vapor is cooled down sufficiently to reach the dew point.
Then, the air and moisture go through special, patented extraction chambers which condense the water even further.
Finally, the water passes through a series or filters then collects in a storage tank ready for tapping.
According to the company, the smaller unit, the Tsunami 500, can produce between .5 and 8 gallons per hour — or up to 200 gallons (757.082 liters) per day. Depending on the air temperature, relative humidity, and dew point.
The larger Tsunami 750 produces up to 330 gallons (1249.19 liters) per day.
What would this look like for the average consumer?
According to the EPA, the average American uses roughly 82 gallons (310 liters) of water per day — with the average household using about 300 gallons (1135.62).
So even with the smaller unit, you’d be able to produce over 60% of your daily water needs, or about 3x your daily needs if you’re single.
But, there’s more to the story.
These units… aren’t cheap. While the company website doesn’t list an official price, reports suggest that the Tsunami 500 could cost a whopping $30,000, and the 750 — about $50,000.
But, it’s not just the up front cost. These systems require external power. The 500 model uses about 7.5 kilowatts per hour while the 750 model uses a max of 11 kilowatts per hour. Compare that to a window AC that uses roughly 1 kW per hour, and a large whole house AC about 4.5. Level 2 charging for a Tesla Model 3 uses between 7-9 kW per hour. These then, are serious energy hogs.
Even if you have solar, you’d need an absolutely massive system to power them, plus if you only run them when producing solar, you can easily cut the water generation in half, if not more. I’m actually looking into a air water generation systems for my net zero home build, so we’ll have a lot more hands on videos on this stuff in future episodes.
One thing to note, though, is that these systems have lifespans of 20 years or more, which may help justify the high upfront costs.
We’ll do a cost comparison breakdown looking at each technology later in the video.
Up next, let’s look at technology that’s basically the exact opposite of these active condenser models.
We all know nets can be great for catching fish out of the water. But… what about using them to catch water itself?
Fog nets have been around for quite a while, using small fibers to capture and condense water from the air. But, these systems typically only work in foggy or high humidity regions. But, a recent breakthrough by researchers Shing-Chung Josh Wong and his team at the University of Akron in Ohio has taken this very simple technology to a whole new level.
The team used electrospun polymer nanofibers — with diameters of one billionth of a meter — about 3-5 atoms in width! These nanofibers greatly increase the relative surface area of the nets, allowing more water to condense on the surface.
According to the creators, if a typical fog net can capture roughly 30 liters of water per day per square meter, these nanofiber nets can yield up to 180 liters — about 6x the output!
Best of all, they require no electricity. However, Wong is developing a system that could use an electric cooling device to help cool the fibers, increasing the amount of water they can collect.
Because this technology is still in its experimental stages, getting info on things like cost per unit can be a bit tricky. But, the researchers’ goal is to create a system that is lightweight, durable, and cost effective.
The increased condensing abilities means that these nets can work even in areas that aren’t particularly humid. In fact, according to Wong, these materials will work in areas where humidity levels are as low as 4%!
The final breakthrough utilizes an emerging technology known as the super sponge.
Super sponges are a wide ranging group of hydrogel and gel-polymer hybrid materials — essentially chemical compounds with interlocked, repeating elements. You actually can see them at work in bandages, diapers, and even contact lenses.
What makes them so special is that they are incredibly hydrophilic — meaning in cold temperatures, they can condense and absorb large amounts of water.
When they heat up under solar radiation — they become hydrophobic meaning they expel all that water they absorbed.
So, like the nanofiber nets, these systems don’t need to consume any electricity to work. They just need solar energy.
A team of researchers at the University of Texas in Austin, led by Guihua Yu, have harnessed these materials to create a unique water harvesting and filtration system.
This version of the gel can produce between 30 and 40 liters per kg per day.
Again, this particular hydrogel is still in the lab. But other hydrogels can cost between $2600 and $3400/ ton — which comes out to about $3-$4/ kg.
So how do these technologies compare? And when, where, and how might each one fit best?
In terms of power consumption, it’s pretty straight forward. Tsunami Products systems use between 7 and 11 kWh of power, while the nanofiber net and the hydrogel systems require no power to produce water.
In terms of longevity — the Tsunami Products systems are rated to last over 20 years,a significant edge over the other two. Again, being in the experimental phase, its hard to say for sure how long these technologies would last in the real world, but traditional fog nets tend to last roughly 10 years, while hydrogels generally last about 7 years. Hydrogels also tend to be biodegradable — a factor the other two don’t share.
Finally, let’s look at cost.
The average American household uses roughly 300 gallons of water per day — about 9,000 gallons monthly or 108,000 gallons annually.
Right now in California, water is priced in Hundred-Cubic-Feet, or HCF, with 1 HCF equalling roughly 750 gallons of water.
Pricing uses a tiered system, as follows:
Base fee: $27.09
0 – 4 HCF used are billed at $5.415 per HCF.
5 – 12 HCF used are billed at $6.065 per HCF.
13 – 18 HCF used are billed at $8.664 per HCF.
Each HCF used after the initial 18 HCF is billed at $12.183 per HCF.
At 300 gallons/ day, that comes out to about 12 HCF monthly — with a base fee of $27, that means the average monthly water bill here in San Diego where I live is between $80 and $100/ month. Which is less than $0.01/ gallon.
The Tsunami 500 costs $30,000 up front
It lasts 20 years and produces 200 gallons per day — that means in its lifetime, it can produce up to 1.5 million gallons of water. At that rate, that comes out to about $0.02/ gallon
But remember, 200 gallons is less than what the average household consumes in a day. So within this machine, you’d still need a water connection to make up the difference. Then you have to factor in your electrcicity bill, assuming you don’t have home solar. Even if we conservatively estimate 10 hours of use a day at 10kW that’s 100kWh per day or 3000 per month. In San Diego at 33 cents per kWh, we’re looking at $1000 per month just for this system. Sadly, you’d never be able to justify this financially.
While pricing for the nanofiber net isn’t currently available, pricing for a standard fog net today can cost about 37.50/ m2 and can last up to 10 years.
According to Wong and his team, 1 m2 of their nanofiber can yield about 47 gallons (187 liters) of water per day — which means you’d need a little over 6 m2 of nanofiber to produce 300 gallons per day. Based on standard fog net pricing, would come out to about $236.25. Over 10 years, this system could theoretically produce over 1 million gallons of water, which comes out to $0.0002/ gallon!
Based on San Diego water prices, you’re looking at a payback period of 3-4 months! And remember, this system requires no electricity.
Now, again, this product is not yet commercially available, but you could see why it would be so attractive!
Finally, the hydrogel. Again, we don’t have pricing on this specific gel, but based on other commercially available products, we can estimate about $4/ kg.
According to the researchers, 1 kg can produce about 9 gallons of water per day, which means we’ll need about 33kg to meet our daily quota — which comes out to roughly $132!
Again, assuming the gel can last seven years, that’s a lifetime production of over 766,000 gallons at a price of $0.0001/ gallon and a payback period of 1-2 months!
Now, of course, these numbers should be taken with a sizeable grain of salt as two of the three technologies aren’t commercially available yet. Things like price, longevity, durability are all highly speculative at this point.
Seeing just how much energy the conventional condensing system uses, you start to realize why so much research is going into nets and gels that are passive systems. And while 10kW per hour is wildly expensive, if I was facing a water shortage, and could power such a system with my solar panels, its hard to put a price on that life giving water production. While these systems may not make sense for the average American home, perhaps they could find use in rural or underdeveloped communities.
Plus it’s not all sunshine and rainbows with the passive systems either. Both the gel and net systems require wind to push the air through the various media. Plus output figures are wildly theoretical, with changes in temperatures, relative humidity and dew point throughout the day, mcu more real world testing would be required to truly understand their performance.
There is one other commercially available product I’ve had my eye on, the Source Hydropanel by Zero Mass water. This solar powered panel mounts on your roof and produces water from air entirely powered by the solar power it produces. This 4×8 foot panel can produce 4-8 liters of water per day, depending on the day’s humidity and weather. And at $6000 for 2 panels shipped and installed, you could produce 8-16 liters or 2-4 gallons a day. Sure you’d need 100 panels and $60,000 to produce all 300 gallons you’d need a day, but cmon its water from the air, all day every day.
You can probably tell I’m pretty passionate about this, so consider this episode one in a series. I have dreams of one day producing all my own water and i’ll cover all my progress in future episodes on my net zero home series, so definitely subscribe and stick around for that.
So water, sure its everywhere, but its quite tricky to use it as we need it. But in our current climate, its one of the great challenges of our time. Which is why I am so thrilled to know so many smart people around the world are working on this problem, and every new idea and breakthrough matters.
But let us know what you think. Which of these technologies gets you most excited? Are there any other water-shortage solutions you’d like to see us cover in future videos? Sound off in the comments below!
