The Smart Way to Stay
Dry

Why It Matters

Energy

Modern dehumidifiers remove moisture by powering refrigeration systems or actively regenerating desiccants, typically using around 0.5 kWh per litre of water extracted. This ties humidity control directly to continuous electrical input, making the process energy-intensive and environmentally costly. As a result, drying air is treated as an energy problem rather than a heat-transfer problem.

Health

High indoor humidity directly affects human health and living conditions. It accelerates mould growth, increases allergen levels, and degrades indoor air quality, contributing to respiratory problems and long-term discomfort. In hot and humid climates, controlling moisture is not a luxury feature but a basic requirement for safe, habitable spaces.

Access

Despite differences in branding and price, most consumer dehumidifiers use the same electrically powered condensation approach and achieve similar extraction rates of 10–20 litres per day. This uniform reliance on electricity excludes off-grid communities, resource-scarce regions, and net-zero buildings from effective humidity control. A passive solution removes this dependency and allows deployment independent of infrastructure.

How it Works

Cooling

The surface emits infrared radiation through the atmospheric window, cooling below ambient temperature without electricity. This passive cooling replaces energy-intensive refrigeration.

Capture

Sub-ambient cooling drives condensation while a hygroscopic layer adsorbs additional water vapour. This increases moisture capture across a wide range of humidity conditions.

Regeneration

Ambient heat releases the stored moisture from the hygroscopic material. Water is collected, and the system resets for the next cycle without powered input.

The Prototype

The prototype was designed in Fusion 360 and integrates a radiative condenser, insulation layer, wind shield, and structural backing to maximise radiative heat loss while limiting environmental heat gain.

It operates via radiative cooling, governed by the Stefan–Boltzmann law, with a high-emissivity surface emitting infrared radiation through the atmospheric window to cool below ambient temperature without external power.

Moist air condenses on the cooled surface once the dew point is reached, and the released latent heat is continuously removed. Condensed water is guided by gravity into a collection region, enabling sustained passive dehumidification.

Our
Mission

Our mission is to rethink how we manage indoor environments by developing climate technologies that work with, rather than against, the natural world. Driven by the widespread effects of high humidity on health, comfort, and infrastructure, we focus on developing passive, electricity-free solutions that work across diverse climates and in areas with limited energy access. We aim to build technologies that are not only effective but genuinely sustainable and accessible through research-led design and continuous experimentation.