GreenFocus Inc., a company based in Taguig City, has brought to the Philippines a U.S. technology that can turn air into drinking water – the WaterBoy.
The WaterBoy is capable of producing 30 liters of pure alkaline water per day using nothing but air. The machine does its job by harvesting humidity from the air, purifying it through a four-stage process, dehumidifying it, then dispensing it as pure cool drinking water.
Cody Bodlovic, Field Service Manager of GreenFocus Global Inc. Philippines, said that WaterBoy is perfect for countries like the Philippines which is mostly humid all throughout the year. The machine can also be used in evacuation centers or areas where potable water is scarce.
The WaterBoy has a lifespan of 15 years and costs an expensive Php109,900. However, the company is also planning to release a less expensive machine to make it affordable for the middle class and the poor.
Just to correct costing above, given a 15 year lifespan, this would cost around P20/day or P0.67/liter. It’s actually cheaper than how much purified water is around our area, at P30-25/5 gallons. But considerations here are maintenance, cost of electricity, depreciation and opportunity cost due to high upfront equipment price.
I think I good suggestion, aside from making the technology affordable, is to make it a hybrid that can also purify accessible non-potable water. I’m thinking, the critical point in this tech development is the brute force of gathering water from humidity :)
Just wondering though. What post-apocalyptic landscapes or areas with little access to freshwater (but with high humidity) have access to constant electricity? I doubt a portable solar array can consistently deliver 500w of 220v electricity. Methinks you’ll be hand-cranking a generator to oblivion.
my aircon can produce water out of thin air. now that is not a new technology.
Now that’s a more promising conversion of existing tech. How about a gravity-powered filter attachment to aircon water exhaust pipes so you can re-use that water? Establishments that depend on a/c for extended periods of time can generate a lot of water with that. Seems better than having a dedicated condenser that costs an arm and a leg.
Mahal ang machine mahal pa sa kuryente. Mula sa aircon siguro yan nilagyan ng water filter. :)
Manood kasi kayo ng doomsday preppers, this product is for them
sana walang umutot habang nangongolekta ng humid air
Hahaha! Best comment of the article! :D
What if uber polluted ung air? Kkayanin ba ito ng 4 stage purifucation process nya?
My breath, armpits, and buttocks are damp and sweaty.
Who wants a drink? :)
ijust thought that the words middle class and poor is not politically appropriate terms… may be terms such as unwealthy or words synonymous to “can’t-afford” can make the last statement more pleasing for wide readers…
i think if lahat ng pinoy meron niyan pwede siya gamitin pangotra sa mga bagyo. i mean instead na umulan at magbaha i-harvest nalang lahat ng tubig sa ITCZ bago pa mamuo ang bagyo at gawin potable water haha. eh ano kung mahal ang electric bill kung maliligtas naman ang pilipinas sa bagyo at damages lol!
on a serious note, i agree na advantageous lang ang yan sa post apocalyptic environment or if corrupted na lahat ng water supply sa pinas.
di ko alam kung sarcasm yan o seryoso ka haha kung seryoso ka jan antanga mu a tingin mo ba sa liit ng makina na yan mapapawala nya ung sinsabe mong ITCZ?
to markedly change the weather, much less stop a typhoon, you need an astronomical number of humidity harvesting machines, and you need to park them in the pacific
Marahil malaki nga ang presyo nyan at isama pa nating ung konsumo mo sa kuryente pero ang point nito ay kung paano nahaharvest ang water just from humidity. As long as experts are trying to find alternatives to produce cheap and clean energy wla pang silbe satin yan pero kung may renewable energy na tayo kada household eh malaking pakinabang yan hindi lng satin pati na din sa paligid
I am humidity and I find this offensive
it’s so funny how negative can some people get…can’t we just support everyone, i’m sure this is in the early stages of the project…just imagine how something like this can bring potable water to remote places
70 percent of our planet is covered with WATER
I don’t think this invention warrants any attention (let alone, support) considering how abundant h2O is in our surrounding
May WOW factor no doubt about it..pero mapapa-WOW ka pa kaya pag naningil na ang MERALCO sa ‘yo?
if this invention would be supported by first-world countries(im pretty sure we cant haha)im definitely sure the price will go down especially if many countries would buy in bulks. Ung tungkol sa electricity,pwede naman masolusyunan yan ex by using solar panels mahal man ang puhunan at least maintenance na lang ang gagastusin mo =)
well right now with the high cost of electricity, its probably ONLY useful in places where electricity is cheap. abuzalzal is only half right. 70% of the planet is covered by water yes but its salt water and is useless.
I assume this works by cooling air just like an air conditioner. I dont know whats more efficient, distilling salt water with electricity or separating out the salt by freezing sea water or just getting it from the humid air in coastal places.
This is not a new technology. Unless they have some new tech that can put the billions of dollars spent by aircon and refrigerator manufacturers over the past century or so, then it probably has the same efficiency as a normal aircon.
its just hype probably. if its not then they better show us proof
typo
“by aircon and refrigerator manufacturers over
the past century or so,” should be
“by aircon and refrigerator manufacturers over the past century or so to shame,”
@abuzalzal bobo mo naman! di kaba aware na sa sinasabi mong 70% na tubig sa mundo ay wala pang 1% ang potable! kaya nga gumagawa ng paraan ang tao para may mapagkunan ng inumin! isip isip din! try mo kayang uminom ng seawater at tignan natin kung sino ang unang mamatay…. well ganyan talaga ang mga troll…. walang utak… walang pinag-aralan… illiterate…….. salsal ka na lang… wala naman ng saysay ang utak mo………..
70% is covered with water and….
I think you should finish the line…
Base sa net, yes, 70% of the earth is covered by water and 97.5% of it is salt water, 2.5% is fresh water and less than 1% is the only accesible to human…
Not all water is potable…most of the fresh water are in the north and south poles….
But i agree with you, parang mapapa boo ako pagdating the electroc bill.
Probably the electric consumption nito eh parang aircon lang…di kaya?
And yes, this is good for the remote areas with no poable water…pero need electricity….solar power, kaya kaya?
May technology na na pwedeng i convert ang salt water into drinking water mas maganda yun kesa dito..
I think this one is best in Middle East. Water is limited; Electricity cheap.
MakaPOOR naman. That sound so offensive.
The thing with high humidity places is that they’re usually high precipitation places. It would be more practical and cheaper to collect and sterilize rainwater/dew water.
The site claims a power consumption cost of “6 php per liter”, which in my case suggests .5kWh/L of water generated. At 30 liters/day, that would be 180php/day. Around 5400php/month. Funny thing is, the site claims that the monthly cost is “equivalent to an average lunch or dinner for two.”
5k…dinner for two. Talk about out of touch. I don’t think “poor” means what they think it means.
Exactly…Medyo na blunder yata yung nag introduce ng product kasi nag-assume sila na Nuclear-Powered ang mga electric plant sa Pinas LOL
Sa Europe siguro papatok ito dahil mura kuryente dun
FAIL FAIL FAIL
Why would you let it run for 24 hours and 30 days straight?
If I were to have one of these, I’ll just use it a for about 4 hours per day and generate around 5L of water. That’s about 900 pesos per month. That’s a more practical use case than running it straight for 30 days.
Yes it’s still more expensive than ordering from your local water refilling station. Keep in mind, the technology is still new. In a few years it may become more efficient and become more affordable.
how about the electricity used while converting air to water, is it worth it? just sayin
30 liters in 24 hours = 1.24 L per Hour? wut?
Isama mo pa yung konsumo sa kuryente na siguro mala-aircon ang higop…
I’d say this is a very impractical invention kung i-factor mo na yung electrical expenses
Pwede lang ito sa Warzone at post apocalyptic environment
sayang lang kuryente dito -.- , unless you use renewable energy like wind and solar . free na lahat =)
it’s like creating something from nothing! =)
u sure its nothing? i bet u breath :)
Wonder how much the cost is for the ‘poor’? Cheaper than buying water from the water truck or from your neighbor?
moreover, you still have to consider that this machine will be using electricity to do its job. for the “poor”?