Roof-integrated dew water harvesting in Combarbalá, Chile

Danilo Carvajal, Jean Gabriel Minonzio, Elvira Casanga, Jorge Muñoz, Alvaro Aracena, Sonia Montecinos, Daniel Beysens

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Dew harvesting can be a supplementary source of freshwater in semiarid and arid areas. Several experiments on small-scale dew condensers (usually of 1 m2) have been carried out in many places in the world; however, few experiments have been conducted on large-scale collectors integrated into buildings. This work aims to assess one year of dew water harvesting in Combarbalá (Chile) using a painted galvanised steel roof as collecting surface. The roof (36 m2) was coated with a high-infrared-emissivity paint containing aluminosilicate minerals (OPUR, France). Dew measurements were conducted daily from September 2014 to August 2015. The dew yield and its relationship with meteorological variables were analysed. The results show that despite the low nocturnal relative humidity throughout the year (average: 48%), dew collection occurred on 56.1% of the recorded days. The daily average collection rate was 1.9 L d1, with a maximum of 15 L d1. The maximum daily dew yield is correlated strongly with relative humidity and correlated weakly with air temperature and wind speed. Considering the same rooftop can collect dew and rain, it was estimated that over one year dew water could contribute to roughly 8.2% of the total water collected, considering both sources.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)357-374
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Water Supply: Research and Technology - AQUA
Volume67
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2018

Keywords

  • Atmospheric water
  • Dew collection
  • Radiative cooling
  • Water resources

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Roof-integrated dew water harvesting in Combarbalá, Chile'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this