Table 1 Suitability of household-scale applications by AWH category

From: Global potential for harvesting drinking water from air using solar energy

 

Passive AWH devices

Active AWH devices

Diurnal AWH (single cycle per day)

Device types:

Dew harvesters (near-condensed droplets)

Sorption-based

Energy Requirements:

None

0 to 1 l kWh−1 (ref. 32)

Size requirements:

Low mass, but requires large catchment surface area

Mass-driven: water outputs scale proportional to sorbent mass37

Global assessment:

Niche potential7

Wide climate applicability but mass intensity limits economic reach7,31

Continuous AWH (or multiple cycles per day)

Device types:

Fog harvesters (pre-condensed droplets)

Sorption-based, cooler–condensers*

Energy requirements:

None

Sorption-based: 0 to 1 l kWh−1 (ref. 32); cooler–condenser: 2 to 4 l kWh−1 (ref. 32)*

Sizing requirements:

Low mass, but requires large catchment surface area

Climate-driven and modular: scaled by available resource and solar harvesting area4*

Global assessment:

Niche potential7

Global potential not previously studied12†

  1. Select categorization of AWH devices with low or no energy requirements. *Promising categories for low-cost, off-grid devices at household scale. †There is a gap in the literature on global assessment, which is addressed in this study.
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