American startup Zero Mass Water unveiled an innovative device called REXI, at the CES Electronics Show in January, designed to provide consumers with clean, drinking water from the air.
REXI is half the size of standard hydro panels that are mounted directly on the ground and is suited for the production of water on roofs by both homes, schools and business offices.
Unique hydro panels are powered by solar energy to extract water from trapped steam, so there is no need to connect to any energy infrastructure and they are completely self-sufficient and sustainable. The invention also includes a battery to prevent the water supply from stopping even during cloudy hours.
In this way, this solution would help many communities around the world to cope with water scarcity but would also provide a kind of water network for facilities in remote and inaccessible terrain.
Zero Mass Water panels also operate at periods when the humidity is lower than 10 per cent, providing consumers with high-quality water even at times when other products of similar uses would not be able to do so.
Depending on the humidity and sunshine during the day, a standard set of two hydro panels produces between 4 and 10 litres of water per day. It is estimated to meet the water needs of between 4 and 6 people.
Each panel (1.2m * 2.4 m) has a capacity of 30 litres, and the total capacity for storage of liquid in the “roof well” is 60 litres.
Orders are already possible, and installation of the water production plant will begin in the summer of 2020.
The estimated cost of the project ranges between € 5,000 and € 6,000 in the United States, including shipping, assembly and taxes.
