-Dehumidifier-
FINAL PROJECT
Dehumidifier basic principles: an electric gadget that removes moisture from the air.
The Dehumidifier is my proposal to use the natural process of condensation, applied to reforest areas were it is very hard to approximate water and regain the natural environment that used to exist the area.
Today´s society is going through an uncertain era, our amenities have created a social indifference in the constant actual problems we phase and the brutal changes predicted for the future.
In order to re gain balance in our environment, we need to create awareness and at the same time, proposals that intervene in some of the most damaged ecosystems of our planet.
CONTEXT
With natural “borders” like the driest desert on the North, the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Antarctica on South and the Andes on the east, Chile has some of the most dramatic and wonderful landscapes in the world. I have lived and worked in Santiago for one year now, this time has allowed me to experience the four weather seasons in this part of the country, which have been dramatically interfered by climate change.
Santiago is a city located in the center and heart of Chile, the city was built inside a valley, but little the Spaniards who founded this capital knew, was that the incremental population, the introduction of industrialization and an important exploitation of resources, would create a micro ecosystem that contains big amounts of CO2 emissions in the air and an important series of negative consequences in the natural surroundings of this area.
Therefore, it is extremely noticeable how many of the mountains surrounding the city are terribly dry due to all the changes mentioned. The situation has derived to eliminate all sort of biodiversity of plants and animals that used to inhabit this surface.
Satellite view of some of the mountains surrounding the city of Santiago, Chile.
RESEARCH AND BENCHMARKING
A dehumidifier is a common and domestic electronic device that is used as a tool for preserving a level of humidity in doors.
My idea is to use all the development and research that has already been done in order to implement my new knowledge learned at the Fab Academy for my project.
I began my research by understanding the real need in my theme, I ran across some very interesting sites that spoke about deforestation and how much this is affecting our planet. On the other hand, I luckily also found some proposals on the citylab website to counter this problem.
At the same time I did some benchmarking on what´s already been done and also what could be improved. Here are some interesting projects on dehumidifiers:
Self watering pot.
Automatic arduino dehumidifier.
Atmospheric water generator.
FIELD RESEARCH
I wanted to confirm if my project could have some real implementation at least in Santiago, therefore, I went to do some field research at one of the most representative public parks in Chile, which is in a mountain called “Cerro San Cristobal”.
To be in context, there are city parks that are insight big cities, like Central Park in New York. “Parque Metropolitano” in Santiago is the fourth biggest public park in the world, being this important for the country, the local government has a water system to keep the park green during our hot summer.
I walked along the park during a normal Sunday at 3pm in the afternoon, surprisingly, they were watering different parts of the park, using big amounts of water (see images below). I was excited and mad at the same time because of the big use of such an important natural resource. But also, it was nice to see that my project could actually be implemented not only in this park but also in so many other mountains around Santiago. These images encourage me to keep my development on the Dehumidifier.
I will continue my exploration and I´ll try to get some hard fact about the water irrigation system.
DEHUMIDIFIER BASIC SYSTEM:
Important component: The humidistat allows you to set your desired level of relative humidity. A humidistat has two parts: a sensing element and a relay amplifier. The sensing element includes two alternate metal conductors, and changes in relative humidity will cause electrical resistance between those conductors. The relay amplifier measures this resistance and sends a signal to turn the dehumidifier on or off.
The components for a conventional dehumidifier are the following:
I must define my components and the final outputs from my Dehumidifier, I am working on that as the Fab Academy continues.
SO FAR SO GOOD...
I will use almost all Fab Academy exercises to build my project, this page will be constantly updated with the process… stay tuned please. ☺