Solar Pedalflo Creates Potable Water for Remote Areas

Communities of people living in remote villages around the globe often endure scarcity of safe water for drinking and cooking, jeopardizing health and hygiene. The SolarPedal, a water supply and treatment unit, can reverse this by producing clean water from a transportable solar-powered water pump that operates continuously under varying light intensities.

The solar panels produce 350 W of energy and can be manually adjusted to catch maximum sunlight. This gadget can lift up to 300 gallons per hour from a depth of 40-45m that can be pumped through a filter, and directed into an 85-gallon non-corrosive pressure tank supplied with the SolarPedalflo. The unit pumps more than 10,000 liters of water per day using the sun as its primary power source. It has a back-up pedal power supply, similar to a bicycle, for times when solar power is not available. An automatic chemical feeder is included that disinfects the water through an automatic chlorinator and filter and the clean water can be elevated to a tank in the village, allowing storage for use on overcast days or at night. People can be trained in the process, which has shown success in preventing water borne diseases, of operation and maintenance, share in the tasks of pedalling, cleaning the filter and monitoring the system.