Dewing the right thing?

A device called the Dew Drop extracts moisture from the air and uses it to water plants. But does its plug-in nature negate any kind of eco-friendliness?

Tue, Dec 22 2009 at 8:11 AM EST

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m quite the collector of indoor houseplants and other forms of indoor air-purifying greenery — bamboo, fern, jade, English ivy, and more — and every time I travel I have to remind myself to give them a bit of extra H2O lovin’ before I head out the door. In fact, this week I’ll be leaving the poor babies alone for a week while I decamp for the Pacific Northwest for the holidays.

I’ve considered trying out self-watering devices like Wine Bottle Plan Nannies but however helpful and clever, they decidedly aren’t my aesthetic cup of tea.

The Dew Drop, a concept device designed by Jacky Wu, is a self-watering gadget for plants that’s decidedly less clunky and more green tech-y. Here’s the neat thing: it conserves water by extracting moisture from the air (perfect for humid summer days), condenses it, and uses it to water plants. Here’s the not so neat thing: it runs on electricity.

So while instantly drawn to the Dew Drop, I do have my reservations. What do you think? Is a water-saving gadget that runs on electricity totally worthless? Or would you give something like this a chance? Would you feel differently if the Dew Drop was powered by rechargeable batteries or a built-in solar panel?

A commenter over at Yanko Design does have an interesting point: to get to your home and through your tap, water does require some sort of power (filtration, pumps, etc.) making the Dew Drop, despite it’s plug-in nature, a viable green gadget.