Spotted: Agriculture production is both the largest user of water worldwide, and a major water polluter. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, climate-change-induced water shortages are expected to become more frequent. In addition, farmers in many regions are facing increasing competition for water due to rising urban population density and rapid growth of the energy and industry sectors.
One way to help farmers reduce water use, as well as water pollution, is to use only as much water as each plant needs, avoiding runoff and excess usage. To make this a reality, startup Treetoscope has developed a platform that integrates AI, weather data, satellite imagery, and other remote sensing technologies to provide real-time sap and water uptake data.
Treetoscope’s sensor uses a heat dissipation model to measure the movement of water (sap flow) within the xylem of trees and vines. The sensor detects the distortion of the heat field around the probe, which is directly related to the velocity of water movement. The irrigation management platform is unique and integrates with other weather data to provide growers with insights into irrigation management.
In September last year, the company announced additional investments to its latest seed funding round, bringing the total raised in this round to over $7 million (around €6.5 million), and total investments of $10 million (around €9.3 million), including grants from the Israel Innovation Authority and the Bird Foundation. The funds will be used for research and development and speeding up the expansion across North America and beyond.
Reducing water use in agriculture is also the subject of innovations such as seeds that are more resilient to water scarcity and AI-driven irrigation.
Spotted: The average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water at home each day. And while water is essential for a whole host of daily activities, a lot of it is wasted, whether through user behaviour or leaks.
In fact, startup Conservation Labs has calculated that, in the US, the cost of unwanted water use amounts to $62.64 billion per year. To tackle this issue, the company is deploying machine learning and sound-monitoring sensors.
When water flows through a plumbing system, whether to a toilet, a sink, or a bathtub, it creates a distinct sound. And machine learning algorithms can be trained to identify different sound patterns and what they mean for the system.
Conservation Labs’ technology, called H2Know, uses a WiFi-connected sensor, which is attached to a house’s inbound pipe. This sensor can be clipped onto the pipe easily and links to a user-friendly app that provides continuous water use monitoring.
Users can compare their usage to weekly averages, and the system provides email and text notifications for leaks. The technology can also integrate with a third-party water shut-off device, which kicks in if a catastrophic leak is detected.
Other water-saving innovations spotted by Springwise include greywater-recycling showers, a system that recycles household water, and a fibre optics system that detects leaks.
Spotted: By 2050, analysts expect global demand for water to outstrip supply by nearly 60 per cent. And ageing infrastructure makes it difficult for cities to use the latest technologies to store and distribute potable water. One potential solution to the very complex problem of providing communities with clean, fresh water is to filter what is available.
Tunisian greentech company Dracoss has built a purifier that attaches to most types of taps and works without electricity, making it accessible to organisations with limited financial means. The ceramic filter cartridges last for three to six months, and the filtering process can be turned off to allow unfiltered water to run through the system as a means of extending the life of the cartridge.
The tap water filter captures every contaminant that is 0.3 microns in size or larger, which includes sediment, rust, parasites, and algae. Dracoss’ design includes activated carbon granules to improve the taste of the filtered water, and the system is easy to install. The company provides both an installation and maintenance video for support in installing the filter and changing the cartridge.
For larger organisations, Dracoss also offers a greywater recycling machine that cleans used water from dishwashers, baths, sinks and more. The recycled water is clean enough for use in laundry, toilets, and irrigation. The system can reduce overall water consumption by up to 50 per cent.
As well as filters and greywater recycling, Dracoss also provides educational seminars on water scarcity and various solutions, and the company ships internationally.
From small-scale, plug-and-play water sanitation systems to off-grid nanogrids that provide solar power as well as clean water, innovations in Springwise’s library demonstrate the diversity of solutions needed for this intricate world challenge.
The word is now out, and sales of heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) are taking off. New rebates, mandates, and tax credits will likely drive sales through the roof by the end of this decade. Heat pump water heaters use a fraction of the energy of legacy technologies, with great performance, which means lower utility bills along with reduced carbon emissions. We’ve embraced the technology on our journey to electrify two different properties, and we were among the first in the US to buy and install a 120V plug-in heat pump water heater at our family home in Ohio.
Why do we sing their praises?
Cost!
The heat pump water heater is among the most affordable climate-saving technologies available. While solar panels and electric cars are vital tools for climate warriors, a heat pump water heater saves the energy equivalent of seven solar panels while costing only one-sixth the price. They run approximately $1600 for the appliance, plus $1000 to $3000 for installation, depending on the fuel your current water heater uses. This cost is higher than traditional gas or electric-resistance water heaters, but many utilities offer rebates to bring down the price. And then add the 30% tax credit from the Inflation Reduction Act, if the property is your primary residence.
If your current water heater is gas, you may need to run a 240V electrical line, unless you get a new 120V plug-in model (for more info on this option, read about our fourth install below). If your current water heater is electric-resistance, it should already have a 240V line running to it, likely allowing a simple swap.
Efficiency
Hot water accounts for a substantial share of energy use in buildings—17% in single family homes and up to 32% in multi-family—hundreds of dollars a year. Heat pumps move heat rather than create it. So heat pump water heaters are three to five times more efficient than standard water heaters. They look just like a legacy water heater, but a bit taller because the heat pump sits on top of the water tank.
Sure heat pump water heaters are super energy efficient, but they also run on electricity, which means they can use renewable electricity. Replacing a single gas water heater with a heat pump unit will save around 1 ton of CO2 annually.
And the word is out. While heat pump water heaters currently account for only less than 2% of new water heater sales, they jumped 26% in 2022 as sales of natural gas water heaters fell. Heat pump water heaters could increase to half of all water heater sales by 2030.
Propelling electrification
Electricity is the only widely-available, scalable fuel option that is quickly decarbonizing. So reducing climate change involves converting everything to highly efficient, clean electricity. A common critique of the electrification movement is that the electrical grid can’t handle the additional loads to replace fossil fuels used in buildings and transportation. Enter heat pumps. Widespread deployment of heat pumps in HVAC and hot water production will save tremendous energy: enough to power new electrical loads, like electric cars (EVs), on the existing grid.
Heat pump water heaters (HPWH) will likely save nearly all the electricity a household needs to operate an EV.
As Americans transition to EVs over the next decade, heat pump water heaters alone will likely save nearly all the electricity that a household needs to operate an EV. This statistic shows how much energy we currently waste in heating our water. And this EV electrical load is replacing carbon-intensive gasoline and diesel fuels.
About half of the US currently has electric resistance water heaters, so as those homes switch to heat pump water heaters, we won’t have to worry about finding more electricity for EVs. Their utility bills will likely stay constant, saving them all the money they currently spend at the gas pump.
The other half of homes heats water with fossil fuels, so we will need to find added clean electricity for those water heaters and vehicles. (But transitioning electric-resistance space heaters and clothes dryers to heat pump units produces savings similar to switching out water heaters.) Most heat pump water heaters run on 240V (the same as conventional electric water heaters and dryers), but if your old water heater runs on gas, you may have to install a new power line from the panel. But a 120V plug-in model is the newest option. If your current water heater is electric, it will likely be an easy swap: no need for an electrical panel upgrade or service upsize from the utility.
2017: HPWH replacing an aging water heater
Our old gas water heater was nearing its end of life, and Joe was excited about the technological advance of heat pumps for water heating. Though we still had questions about installation and performance.
It’s easiest to install a heat pump water heater in a basement or garage, because they exhaust cool air. But our heat pump water heater resides in a coat closet in the middle of our living space, venting into the attic. There it draws the warmest air in our house and exhausts to an unconditioned space. (Note that there are lots of options for locating heat pump water heaters in living spaces without ducting.)
Of course there were no local installers familiar with heat pumps back then, but after watching YouTube, Joe felt OK working with a trusted handyman. Even though it was a gas conversion, an existing 240V electrical line made things much easier. Ever since, this unit has consistently provided our family plus an Airbnb with plentiful hot water.
2019: HPWH replacing a functioning gas hot water heater
We did not get the full life out of the existing gas hot water heater in the accessory dwelling unit on our property. We chose to replace a perfectly good appliance (only 7 years old) with a heat pump water heater powered by clean solar energy. Our goal was to eliminate fossil fuels from our home. We used the same attic-ducting technique as the water heater in the main house, locating the unit in a closet. This mighty unit provides plenty of hot water for the tenant and runs the radiant floor heating system as well. (We don’t recommend heat pump water heaters for floor heating, as it is not a proven or scalable application.)
2020: HPWH replacing a decrepit gas water heater
During COVID, we undertook an interiors and sustainability renovation of a duplex in Cleveland, OH, that has been in our family for 75 years. In transitioning to all-electric, we replaced an almost 30-year-old basement water heater with our favorite heat pump. In addition to reducing our energy bill by $200 a year, it provides great dehumidification: about 2–4 quarts of water per day. If you currently run one or more dehumidifiers in your damp, Midwestern basement, you may save hundreds more.
The plumber added a new 240V power line, and ran the condensate tube to the floor drain. The basement maintains about 60 °F all winter, and we’ve never needed to engage the less-efficient backup electric-resistance heating elements.
2023: The new 120V heat pump water heater
This past summer, we replaced the other 30-year-old gas water heater in the basement of the Cleveland duplex. This just-arrived-on-the-market 120V unit eliminated the need to run 240V power from the panel. As heat pump enthusiasts, we were excited to test the latest tech. Perhaps the most difficult step was placing the custom order with Home Depot. Though now it’s readily available!
The installation was the easiest part. It took the plumber (who had never heard of a heat pump water heater) only 2.5 hours to complete the job, about the same as a standard gas water heater. The 120V heat pump water heater plugs right into a standard outlet. But he did have to run the condensate tube into the floor drain nearby and cap the gas line.
The 120V unit has been humming along for months—it’s very quiet—using a mere 65 kWh in the first month of operation. We monitor its performance through the manufacturer’s app, so we know it remains ridiculously efficient and almost always completely full of hot water. At a total of $3,258 installed and estimated savings of $208 a year. The 120V models usually eliminate the backup electric-resistance heating elements by using a larger tank with more hot water stored, or by storing water at higher temperatures and then mixing in cold water to avoid scalding. Our 120V unit uses the latter strategy; see it in action.
If this were our primary residence, we might have taken advantage of the 30% tax credits for heat pump water heaters, lowering our cost to $2,281. That comes so close to the $2,000 average installed cost of a standard gas or electric water heater. And you’re still saving hundreds of dollars a year on energy costs. This proves that almost any of the 60 million US homes with a gas water heaters can easily and cheaply move towards a cleaner, decarbonized home that is less expensive to operate.
We’re big fans of making a long-term decarbonization plan, so you’re not rushing to replace broken equipment and being forced to install new circuit breakers or even a new panel or expensive electrical service upgrade. So before checking the cost of a heat pump water heater, understand your home’s installation requirements and identify a contractor or two. Then when the time, and rebates and tax credits, are right, you’re ready to switch. Because they save so much on utility bills, proactively replacing a functioning, but inefficient, water heater with a heat pump water heater may make sense—for the sake of our changing climate.
This article springs from several posts by Naomi Cole and Joe Wachunas, first published in CleanTechnica. Their “Decarbonize Your Life” series shares their experience, lessons learned, and recommendations for how to reduce household emissions.
The authors:
Joe Wachunas and Naomi Cole both work professionally to address climate change—Naomi in urban sustainability and energy efficiency and Joe in the electrification of buildings and transportation. A passion for debarbonization, and their commitment to walk the walk, has led them to ductless heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, induction cooking, solar in multiple forms, hang-drying laundry (including cloth diapers), no cars to electric cars and charging without a garage or driveway, a reforestation grant from the US Department of Agriculture, and more. They live in Portland, OR, with two young children.
Spotted: Desalination of seawater has the potential to help alleviate the world’s decreasing availability of freshwater. The process, however, is polluting and raises the salt levels of the water in which the plant operates to potentially dangerous levels. Additionally, the most common technique (reverse osmosis) of desalination consumes high volumes of energy.
Approaching the process with a different technology is French technology company Seawards. Seawards uses its patented cryo-separation process to desalinate seawater without any pollution and with much lower energy expenditure. Saltwater freezes at a lower temperature than pure water, and this makes it possible to extract drinkable water during a cooling cycle. This is because crystals of freshwater can be separated and collected while the salty water remains liquid.
Of the water taken into the system, around 10 per cent is turned into potable water, while the remaining 90 per cent is circulated back to the sea. Crucially, the returned water is only slightly more salty than when it entered the system and contains no chemicals, meaning it is non-polluting and can be safely absorbed by the ocean without damaging local ecosystems. This stands in contrast to traditional desalination techniques that produce toxic brine (water with a very high salt content) as a waste product.
Seawards’ team emphasises the global need to democratise access to clean water. It is a goal the company works toward with its agile system, modular design, and elimination of pollutants. And because cryo-separation requires less power than existing techniques, the process is more accessible to smaller communities.
The minimised footprint of the prefabricated infrastructure makes it easy to assemble without substantial construction costs and equipment needs, and depending on the need, the cryo-separation system can also be scaled for greater treatment volumes.
From mobile filtration systems to off-grid solar desalination, Springwise’s library includes a variety of examples of innovators seeking ways to improve community access to potable water.
Spotted: Today, around two billion people around the world lack reliable access to clean drinking water. And while there are a large number of programmes aimed at expanding access to water in urban areas, improving rural water supply can be more expensive and difficult to deliver, and so often takes a back seat. Now, however, Chilean startup Remote Waters is focusing precisely on this type of outlying region.
The company specialises in supplying small-scale modular water treatment and desalination systems made for remote, rural, and off-grid areas. The company sources water that is unfit for consumption (like brackish water or ocean water) and devises a bespoke, solar-powered membrane filtration system to render it potable.
Once purified, the water is transferred to a pressurised water system or an elevated water tank to facilitate delivery. The system can be operated and monitored remotely, which lowers maintenance costs and speeds problem detection. It is available for lease as well as sale.
The company is currently in partnership discussions with several large companies to explore possible funding streams. Remote Waters founder and CEO Pablo Cassorla told Springwise that the company hopes to “Franchise our brand in different countries of [Latin America], increasing our clean water availability capacity in communities.”
‘Availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’ is a key UN Sustainable Development Goal (Goal 6). Recent innovations helping to meet this goal include solar nanogrids to supply water and power and digital water treatment technology.
London studio Seymourpowell has combined an insulated water bottle and a cup with a lid into a single product, Bottlecup, so users only need to remember one item when leaving the house.
The owners of Bottlecup, Kate and Mark Arnell, asked multidisciplinary agency Seymourpowell to help them create a single item that could replace both disposable water bottles and coffee cups.
They found that approximately 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups are used and then thrown away each year in the UK, with only one in 400 of those being recycled.
The product combines a vacuum-insulated bottle with a lidded cup
Recognising that reusable-cup owners often forget to carry their vessel with them, they looked for a way to unite a vacuum-insulated bottle with a lidded cup that can be used for takeaway drinks.
The project team identified that existing reusable bottles or flasks on the market either didn’t provide a cup lid, or didn’t allow the bottle and cup to be used independently of one another.
“Bottlecup innovated to combine a reusable water bottle and reusable cup and cup lid into one seamless item, where both items functioned in their fullest independently of each other without compromise,” the designers explained.
The cup can be used on its own
The stainless-steel water bottle slots inside the cup and twists to lock it in place when carrying both items. The two elements each feature a gently curved silhouette that improves their ergonomic properties.
The cup can be released with a simple twist and used on its own or with the silicone lid, which is stored in its base so users don’t need to carry it separately when drinking beverages such as smoothies, beer or soups.
The silicone waist provides a tactile surface for holding the product, which makes twisting the cup on and off easier. The coloured band also prevents liquid from leaking into the user’s bag when the two elements are united.
A variety of colour options for the silicone band and cup lid allows Bottlecup to be personalised by selecting a favourite hue when purchasing the product. The cup is also available in a range of colours or in plain stainless steel.
A silicone lid is stored in the base
Sustainability and circular design were key concerns throughout the project, leading to the creation of a product that is plastic-free and uses no mixed materials so all of the component parts can be easily recycled.
“Designing without plastic meant features like push-close lids and mouldable rigid shapes were all restricted from the design,” the project team explained.
“The majority stainless-steel finish has a satisfyingly engineered and qualitative feel,” it added.
The design is available in a range of colours
The 18/8 stainless steel used for the bottle and cup can be collected by curbside recycling services, while the band and cup lid are made from food-grade silicone that can be returned to Bottlecup to be recycled responsibly.
Bottlecup features on the shortlist for the product design (consumer design and wearables) category at Dezeen Awards 2023, alongside projects including the latest version of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip smartphone and a bicycle that can easily switch between analogue and electric riding modes.
Other designs that respond to the issue of waste generated by disposable drinking cups include biodegradable cups made using home-grown vegetables and a circular-economy service called Cupclub that supplies and then recycles its own reusable coffee cups.
Spotted: Neoprene – used widely in waterwear – was invented in 1930 out of petroleum-based chemicals. However, an alternative made without petroleum products was actually developed in the 1960s. This uses calcium carbonate from limestone and has become common in most high-end wetsuits as a sustainable and high-performance option. However, limestone neoprene is often lined with nylon – a fabric also derived from petroleum.
Now, Dutch ‘water fashion’ brand Wallien is taking sustainability one step further by replacing all virgin petroleum-based materials in its wetsuits. The company’s suits originally all used a Lycra that consisted largely of recycled materials derived from pre- and post-industrial waste, such as discarded fishing nets and carpets.
However, Wallien’s newest wetsuit range, the Horizonia range, is made from Yulex, a natural latex rubber that is ‘tapped’ (like maple syrup) from the rubber tree Hevea Brasiliensis. Because the rubber trees Yulex is derived from absorb CO2, the wetsuits made using this material are actually more sustainable than those made from limestone neoprene. The trees are all grown on sustainably managed plantations certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and/or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
The company goes even further, packaging all its wetsuits in recyclable cardboard and bio-plastic bags made from corn. Wallien also aims to limit transport pollution by working with manufacturers close to its distribution warehouse in Amsterdam. And all of this commitment to sustainability pays off. The company has annual revenues of around $5 million (around €4.7 million) and an impressive following of professional surfers.
There is no shortage of innovations replacing petroleum-derived products with more sustainable alternatives. Some recent ones spotted by Springwise include sustainable packaging options and a polystyrene foam replacement made from agri-waste.
Spotted: Managing water well is increasingly important as the world is impacted by climate change. Yet water in buildings is unmanaged – delivered through unintelligent pipes that are unnecessarily costly and inefficient. The average household can lose 10,000 gallons of water every year due to leaks, and when a pipe breaks or leaks, escaping water can cause severe damage. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), Israeli company Wint has found a way to change this: using intelligent pipes to detect water leaks and wastage.
Using real-time AI, Wint’s breakthrough technology prevents water waste at the source. When there is a break or leak, the devices alert maintenance staff and can even automatically shut off water supplies when needed. Unlike other solutions, the AI system is constantly learning and adapting to different water networks, supporting systems from domestic water to air conditioning and heating to ensure the buildings can effectively manage the water throughout.
Yaron Dycian, Wint’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer explains: “The built environment is one of the largest industries in the world sized at many trillions of dollars; it includes all construction sites, residential buildings, commercial buildings, etc… Yet this vast ecosystem is also one of the least technologically advanced one. Having built solutions for the most advanced users of IT technologies such as banks and e-commerce, I decided that it would make sense to help bring the benefits of IT to this relatively less IT-savvy world. Seeing the growing need for sustainability combined with the insurance impact of water leak damage, this seemed like an obvious area to address.”
Recently, the company completed a funding round, raising $35 million (around €32.4 million) to drive growth for managing water through AI.
Springwise has previously spotted other intelligent innovations in the archive tackling water scarcity through management, from an AI used to manage global water supplies to a data-driven water management system that ensures communities have enough fresh water.
Spotted: Water plays many vital roles in our body and the environment and is needed for basic sanitation, but there are many places in the world where clean water is not readily available. While multiple factors like inadequate or damaged infrastructure, poor resource management, and pollution are contributing to low water supply, it is clear that climate change is also playing a part.
This is where NovNat Tech comes in. With its technology, NovNat aims to improve water security and boost climate change resilience. This Birmingham-based company has developed a novel ‘atmospheric water harvester’ powered by waste heat from industrial operations, to help provide reliable and consistent water access by extracting water from the air at scale. NovNat’s proprietary porous materials act as a nano-scale selective sponge to soak atmospheric humidity and convert it into water.
Having been rigorously tested, the harvester’s materials have demonstrated breakthrough performance in capturing and releasing water from the air – much faster and with less energy required than pre-existing atmospheric water generation (AWG) systems. The company is currently developing a prototype AWG system, funded by Innovate UK, designed to deliver water on the go for rescue and military vehicles.
The air is filled with many valuable resources, and many innovations are looking to harness these for good use. In the archive, Springwise has also spotted a team that’s made a massive step towards providing hydrogen fuel from the air and a solar-powered panel that captures water vapour from the atmosphere.
