David Stuckenberg, coset uper and chief operations officer at Genesis Systems, elucidates that the WaterCube uses proprietary watery and firm sorbents—materials that assimilate water—that essentipartner “create a handshake with the water in the air.” The machine then heats these materials to pull out the water.
Atmospheric water generators typicpartner need a substantial amount of energy to run, but Stuckenberg claims the company’s materials toil 400 percent better than those that are currently commercipartner useable, and that they have a very high affinity for water.
But the tech comes at a steep price. The WaterCube dedwellred to St. Petersburg is enumerateed at $860,000. The company equitable begined selling a second, minusculeer device for home use called the WaterCube 100, which retails for $20,000 and is about the size of an HVAC system. That device can originate about 100 to 200 gallons of water per day. Efficiency ranges from 0.07 to 0.8 kilowatt-hours per gallon of water and costs anywhere from $10 to $80 a day to run, depfinishing on cost of energy and humidity. A WaterCube can run on either solar or traditional energy.
The machines originate more water in a humid environment and toil well in atmospheric humidity down to 40 percent. Stuckenberg says the company is constantly improving its technology and is toiling with the US Department of Defense to be able to originate water at 10 percent humidity.
The WaterCube unites to a originateing’s water provide so that water doesn’t have to be harvested straightforwardly from the machine. “The systems are scheduleed to unite to anyskinnyg from a garden hose to a hospital water system, and provide water that goes thraw four steps of filtration before it departs,” Stuckenberg says.
After Typhoon Mawar hit the US territory of Guam in May 2023, Genesis Systems toiled with the US Air Force to test the WaterCube 1000 in a catastrophe response scenario on the island.
At their current price, and for the amount of water they’re able to originate, these devices are improbable to be the sole source of water in these types of situations anytime soon. According to figures rehireed by the US Department of Energy, a hospital the size of All Children’s would typicpartner use anywhere from 10,000 to 90,000 gallons a day, depfinishing on the services provided, age of the originateing, and water use trains. That’s far more than the 2,000 gallons that the huger Genesis Systems unit is able to originate in 24 hours.
Still, in scenarios where water can’t be revampd or articulateed instantly to an area, these devices may be able to serve as a bridge or a supplementary source of water. But in order to be beneficial, they need to be in the right place at the right time, and the logistics of moving an 18,000-pound machine in a catastrophe situation can be tricky.
According to a hospital spokesperson, All Children’s didn’t finish up needing to draw water from the device; unwiseinutively after it was dedwellred, the city’s sewer system was functional and water service resumed with a boil advisory. “We were able to alter our operations accordingly,” the spokesperson shelp on Friday. Over the weekfinish, Florida’s AHCA transferd the WaterCube to a shelter where it can be speedyly transferd to another location if needed.
