MSNBC:
Remember those sweltering summer days when the air was so muggy you could practically drink it? A new home appliance is promising to make that possible by converting outdoor air into nearly 13 quarts of fresh water every day.
Originally envisioned as an antidote to the shortage of clean drinking water in the world, the WaterMill has the look of a futuristic air conditioner and the ability to condense, filter and sterilize water for about 3 cents per quart.
At $1,299, the 45-pound device doesn’t come cheap, and it is neither the first nor the biggest machine to enter the fast-growing field of atmospheric water generators. But by targeting individual households with a self-cleaning, environmentally friendly alternative to bottled water, Kelowna, British Columbia-based Element Four is hoping its WaterMill will become the new must-have appliance of 2009.
“The idea is making this thing intelligent,” said Jonathan Ritchey, inventor of the original WaterMill prototype and president of Element Four. “So what happens is the machine knows where it is. If you put it in a rainforest, it will sample that environment every three minutes, and it will adapt.” Ditto for a desert. That adaptation is critical for energy efficiency.
Image from Element Four.