5 comments

  • dinkblam 0 minutes ago
    > A 1596-unit array powers a wireless keyboard and simultaneously reduces indoor humidity from 38% to 32%,

    isn't below 40% "bad"?

  • jedberg 50 minutes ago
    I've thought for a while that it would be interesting to have micro dehumidifiers on my roof that supplement my water supply from humidity.

    Turn myself into a moisture farmer if you will.

    But then I wonder, would it be a problem if everyone did it? Would it cause humidity to drop in a bad way?

    • jawns 18 minutes ago
      In humid regions, there is no practical limit that would cause any noticeable effects on the humidity of outdoor air. There is just so much water in the air that even if you were running dehumidifiers across all available land area, the air is still going to feel humid.
    • NewJazz 23 minutes ago
      It would probably depend on how you use the water. Watering plants (including via gray water systems) would mean a lot of the water would evaporate or transpirate. Flushing it down the drain means it exits the system.
    • shagie 11 minutes ago
      For non-potable use, probably. Potable use might require some more treatment checks on it. It's one thing to use it for flushing the toilet... showering might be ok. Not sure about washing dishes. Washing clothes, maybe.

      And for the "the amount of times I change out 2 gallons of water from the dehumidifier in the basement in the summer"... there's a lot of moisture out there.

      This is constrained by season. In the winter, its much easier to get to 0% humidity than it is in the summer.

      https://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/mtpw2/product.php?col... for the total precipitable water over North America. Through the midwest, it's in the 40-50mm range.

      Consider XKCD's giant raindrop - https://what-if.xkcd.com/12/

      > We’ll imagine our storm measures 100 kilometers on each side and has a high TPW content of 6 centimeters. This means the water in our rainstorm would have a volume of: 100km x 100km x 6cm = 0.6km^3

      > That water would weigh 600 million tons (which happens to be about the current weight of our species). Normally, a portion of this water would fall, scattered, as rain—at most, 6 centimeters of it.

      Change that to 4cm for current conditions... but that's a lot of water.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humidity#Relationship_between_...

      That has a table of how much water at different humidity and temperature combinations. It's currently about 20 °C and that gives us 15.6 g/m^3.

      ... but there's an awful lot of air around.

      This can also be complicated if you have trees or other vegetation around. The humidity at my parents place (fairly deep in the woods in farmland) is always much higher than it is if you go to the road (or in town).

      https://extension.osu.edu/about/resources/corn-sweat-and-hum...

      > Some research conducted by USDA Agricultural Research Service suggests that corn can contribute between 3,500 and 5,000 gallons of water per acre to the atmosphere over the course of one to two days. A typical pool contains 18,000 - 20,000 gallons.

      ...

      So, it's complicated. Maybe, a little bit, depends on where you are.

  • bix6 48 minutes ago
    That’s impressive humidity drop for a small panel area. Curious how big the room was.
  • sublinear 50 minutes ago
    I wonder if this would get moldy.
    • pdonis 27 minutes ago
      The condensate (water vapor that gets condensed out of the air in the process of generating the electricity) has to go somewhere; if it's not properly handled, yes, I would expect mold.
  • botanrice 32 minutes ago
    very solarpunk