What’s Required To Install A Source Hydropanel?

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Last Updated on: 8th May 2025, 01:49 am

We’ve been following Source — formerly known as Zero Mass Water — and its hydropanels for years. We were thrilled when it was time to install a few hydropanels to see how they work and really put them to the test. To learn more about Source and its hydropanels, check out the primer we wrote that unpacks them in more detail.

Disclaimer: after putting in an order for a single Source hydropanel, their team reached out and offered to install two hydropanels for a review. They provided the panels and the installation free of charge to the author for the purposes of this review.

For a full unpacking of what a hydropanel is, head over to our more comprehensive article here. For the purposes of this article, a hydropanel is an appliance that can be installed as a standalone unit without the need for any external power in order to harvest water from the atmosphere.

Designed to be standalone units, Source’s hydropanels do not need any external power. That is a huge unlock in terms of where they can be installed and what you can do with them. It truly allows them to solve even more problems in even more ways in even more places for even more people around the world.

That’s not just talk, but it’s what Source has been doing since its inception. They company has brought clean, pure drinking water to Native American reservations, unlocked water for off-grid users in remote portions of South America, and so much more. Head over to their blog for a sampling of some of the unique locations they’ve installed their panels.

The Plan

Ahead of the installation, one of Source’s project managers reached out to me to understand the installation location. After a few emails back and forth and a call, we finalized the installation location at our home.

While the panels don’t require any external power, you do need to run flexible tubing from the panels to wherever you plan to use the water. For our house, this meant digging a trench in the yard and running some PVC to protect the flexible water line.

Finding a path that was both reasonable for the installation and aesthetically pleasing, it took a few back and forth emails about the design, but we found a design that worked for everyone and locked it in. The water would be piped under our turf and a small walkway, then brought up into our house just below our kitchen sink.

The Install

Installation day came and the panels in associated hardware were brought in on a flatbed truck with a crane to lift them into place. While they don’t require any external power, the hydropanels are a bit on the heavy side at around 500 lb each.

The team checked out the installation location and rigged the first panel up to the crane so it could be lifted into place. Seeing the first hydropanel flying above our property was amazing and really got me excited about the project once again.

As with any project that requires design, engineering layouts, and planning before the installation, this was sure to go through a number of emotional cycles. When you first put in the order, it’s super exciting, and then the reality sets in of the work that’s required on both sides to even make it happen.

With Source, it was a fairly straightforward process, but it’s worth thinking through the full scope of where you want the panels to live, where the water lines will run, and where you will use the water before you place an order. As with most problems, anything can be solved. It just requires more time, effort, and money.

To support the panel, they pounded four support posts directly into the soil to provide a solid base. The crane then lowered the hydropanel onto the support posts and the team locked them into place ensuring it was level.

The angle of the panel can be adjusted to maximize solar electric and solar thermal production. This ensures the panels are performing at peak and thus producing as much water as possible for you. The panels typically sit about 12–18″ off the ground, but for our installation, it was a bit higher because we chose to install them at the top of a steep hill.

While the first team was installing the hydropanels, another team member dug a trench for the water line. It was just a shallow 6-in trench and he made quick work of it installing a PVC pipe that he was able to plumb the water line through.

At the junction with our house, he drilled a tap out from our under sink area, installing a watertight fitting that connected it to the supply line outside. At no point does the Source hydropanel water system connect to the city water supply.

Inside the house, the incoming water line was connected to our 2½ gallon accumulator tank which has a water pressure gauge and a special port that’s used to test the water. Finally, a water line from the accumulator tank was run up to a new water spigot that mounted directly on our sink.

Overall

It was fun to work through the process of deciding to purchase a Source hydropanel, going through the various design phases, and finally working with the team to get the panels installed.

The installation process was relatively quick, with everything all wrapped up in about 5 hours from the time the truck showed up to the time the team left. For our installation, it was spread over 2 days because the truck delivering the panels showed up late in the afternoon.

Stay tuned for our full review of Source’s hydropanels in the coming weeks. For more information about Source and its hydropanels, head over to their official website at source.co.