Can a Peltier cooler be used to extract moisture from the air using off-the-grid power?
I was wondering how to get water if my local water utility company failed to provide safe and clean water.
In the video above, I also show how you can salvage a 12V fan from a dead computer’s power supply unit.
Salvaging a 12V DC fan from a PSU
Parts used in experiment:
- Peltier cooler (also called TEC or Thermo Electric Cooler)
- liquid CPU cooler
- portable 12V battery
- temperature gun
- 12V cooling fan salvaged from computer power supply
- thermal paste
Water dripping from a Peltier cooler as the ice melts.
My conclusion after testing this is that yes, Peltier coolers can extract water out of the air. However, I question if this way of getting water is practical or economical. In my area, my time would be better spent getting water in other ways:
- Digging a well
- Capturing the water from an air conditioning unit
- Distilling water from the lake across the street from my house
- Distilling water from the creek that runs through my property
- Capturing rain water
Because water is abundant where I am located, I will stop testing Peltier coolers for the purpose of capturing water. (Not sure why exactly I felt compelled to do these tests anyhow… was mostly curious. Oh yeah, I did have an idea that maybe I could set up a drip irrigation system with these in my garden with a solar panel attached to them. No need to run pipes and plumbing if the Peltier coolers could drip water directly over plants on my property.)
Anyway, it works and I had fun with this experiment. Next, I’ll try generating electricty with these thermoelectric devices.
Related Posts:
Majid Majeed says:
Hi
April 4, 2010, 11:11 pmI am looking for Solar Dehumidifier ,for outside use to irrigate plant or tree .
Sandbird says:
Hi, I’ve done something similar with a Peltier cooler.
http://img69.imageshack.us/i/dsc00026ae.jpg/
http://img186.imageshack.us/i/dsc00027r.jpg/
http://img194.imageshack.us/i/dsc00028ml.jpg/
but i cant get it to freeze like yours did. I use my CPU power supply to power the fan and the peltier and i use an old AMD heatsink to cool it down.
July 28, 2010, 1:31 pmIs it cause you used a liquid cooling systems that you got the peltier to make frost ? Or is the peltier itself that is crap :/ ?
Mine is a 12v 91.2 Watt.
Thanks.
Earl says:
Well, the liquid cooling system certainly would make the Peltier more efficient at keeping the cool side at or below a freezing temperature. So you may have answered the question already. I’m not sure if my Peltiers would make frost if I used a simple aluminum heat sink.
Another issue might be electrical current. I wonder if your PSU provides enough current to get your Peltier running all the way to 91 Watts.
In one of your pictures, you show a glass of ice water on top of the Peltier. If you flip the Peltier upside-down and let the ice water dissipate the heat from the HOT side of your Peltier, that would be as good or better than my liquid cooling system. If you could keep part of the COLD side exposed to the air, then you could look for frost. If you then see frost, you know that you need a better heat sink for the HOT side. That could be a way to test your Peltier without having to purchase any other materials.
July 29, 2010, 12:49 pm