DROPS OF LIFE

Drops of Life is an open source, 3D-printable device that channels air conditioner condensation into a clean, safe water source for urban birds, helping them to cope with heat stress and water scarcity in cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Birds are feeling the effects of a warming planet, higher temperatures and a lack of clean water; this correlates with lower bird diversity. Outside of offices and apartments, birds are vulnerable to physiologocal stress and in some cases have suffered mass die-offs. However, a simple new invention is turning air conditioning into a solution for them; the drops that emerge from the outside pipes of air conditioning units are in fact the condensation that results from cooled air drawn from the interior. The more intensively the unit works, the more drops it produces – seven hours of operation can result in as much as ten litres of water from one unit. The air conditioning drips become a bird-friendly water source.

Partnering with ecologists and ornithologists, a bird waterer was designed to fit any air conditioning system, at the same time looking natural to birds. Prototyped models, followed by full 3D-printable versions, were created, and water from the air conditioning units can be channelled into the device, giving birds a clean and sustainable water source.

The bird waterer design is easy to install, open source and downloadable from the Drop of Life website.

www.dropsoflife.city