What’s Required To Install A Source Hydropanel?

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Final Up to date on: eighth Might 2025, 01:49 am

We’ve been following Source — previously generally known as Zero Mass Water — and its hydropanels for years. We have been thrilled when it was time to put in a couple of hydropanels to see how they work and actually put them to the check. To be taught extra about Supply and its hydropanels, try the primer we wrote that unpacks them in additional element.

Disclaimer: after placing in an order for a single Supply hydropanel, their staff reached out and supplied to put in two hydropanels for a overview. They supplied the panels and the set up freed from cost to the writer for the needs of this overview.

For a full unpacking of what a hydropanel is, head over to our more comprehensive article here. For the needs of this text, a hydropanel is an equipment that may be put in as a standalone unit with out the necessity for any exterior energy as a way to harvest water from the ambiance.

Designed to be standalone items, Supply’s hydropanels don’t want any exterior energy. That may be a large unlock by way of the place they are often put in and what you are able to do with them. It really permits them to unravel much more issues in much more methods in much more locations for much more individuals all over the world.

That’s not simply discuss, but it surely’s what Supply has been doing since its inception. They firm has introduced clear, pure consuming water to Native American reservations, unlocked water for off-grid customers in distant parts of South America, and a lot extra. Head over to their blog for a sampling of among the distinctive places they’ve put in their panels.

The Plan

Forward of the set up, one among Supply’s mission managers reached out to me to know the set up location. After a couple of emails backwards and forwards and a name, we finalized the set up location at our residence.

Whereas the panels don’t require any exterior energy, you do must run versatile tubing from the panels to wherever you intend to make use of the water. For our home, this meant digging a trench within the yard and operating some PVC to guard the versatile water line.

Discovering a path that was each cheap for the set up and aesthetically pleasing, it took a couple of backwards and forwards emails in regards to the design, however we discovered a design that labored for everybody and locked it in. The water can be piped underneath our turf and a small walkway, then introduced up into our home slightly below our kitchen sink.

The Set up

Set up day got here and the panels in related {hardware} have been introduced in on a flatbed truck with a crane to raise them into place. Whereas they don’t require any exterior energy, the hydropanels are a bit on the heavy aspect at round 500 lb every.

The staff checked out the set up location and rigged the primary panel as much as the crane so it could possibly be lifted into place. Seeing the primary hydropanel flying above our property was superb and actually acquired me excited in regards to the mission as soon as once more.

As with all mission that requires design, engineering layouts, and planning earlier than the set up, this was positive to undergo quite a few emotional cycles. Once you first put within the order, it’s tremendous thrilling, after which the truth units in of the work that’s required on each side to even make it occur.

With Supply, it was a reasonably simple course of, but it surely’s price pondering by way of the complete scope of the place you need the panels to stay, the place the water strains will run, and the place you’ll use the water earlier than you place an order. As with most issues, something will be solved. It simply requires extra time, effort, and cash.

To help the panel, they pounded 4 help posts instantly into the soil to offer a stable base. The crane then lowered the hydropanel onto the help posts and the staff locked them into place making certain it was degree.

The angle of the panel will be adjusted to maximise photo voltaic electrical and photo voltaic thermal manufacturing. This ensures the panels are acting at peak and thus producing as a lot water as doable for you. The panels sometimes sit about 12–18″ off the bottom, however for our set up, it was a bit greater as a result of we selected to put in them on the high of a steep hill.

Whereas the primary staff was putting in the hydropanels, one other staff member dug a trench for the water line. It was only a shallow 6-in trench and he made fast work of it putting in a PVC pipe that he was in a position to plumb the water line by way of.

On the junction with our home, he drilled a faucet out from our underneath sink space, putting in a watertight becoming that related it to the availability line outdoors. At no level does the Supply hydropanel water system connect with the town water provide.

Inside the home, the incoming water line was related to our 2½ gallon accumulator tank which has a water stress gauge and a particular port that’s used to check the water. Lastly, a water line from the accumulator tank was run as much as a brand new water spigot that mounted instantly on our sink.

General

It was enjoyable to work by way of the method of deciding to buy a Supply hydropanel, going by way of the varied design phases, and at last working with the staff to get the panels put in.

The set up course of was comparatively fast, with the whole lot all wrapped up in about 5 hours from the time the truck confirmed as much as the time the staff left. For our set up, it was unfold over 2 days as a result of the truck delivering the panels confirmed up late within the afternoon.

Keep tuned for our full overview of Supply’s hydropanels within the coming weeks. For extra details about Supply and its hydropanels, head over to their official website at source.co.