Florida-Based Startup Recycles AC Water For Cannabis Growers

Florida-Based Startup Recycles AC Water For Cannabis Growers

Cheesecake-flavored gummies and libido-increasing vapes weren’t the only stars of the show at the Tampa KushCon. An air conditioning tech company took the cake.

FutureAC Water Systems, based out of Miami, debuted their leading edge, patent-pending water recycling technology at the cannabis trade show last weekend.

The system converts air conditioning units in businesses or residential homes into atmospheric water generators for growing plants or drinking water.

Their Pitch:

Home AC units produce 5-25 gallons of water daily. This means that Florida is wasting gallons of water every day.

The founder of FutureAC Water Systems, Michael Molinar, believes that this water can and should be put to use. Especially considering Florida’s looming water shortage.

How It Began:

Molinar may have made an impression on cannabis growers at KushCon. However, he has been out of the cannabis world for some time.

Molinar stumbled upon this idea for the water system after a decade of being a “general advisor” and designing and building illegal cannabis grows in Miami.
“I was a one-man army,” he says.

Florida-Based Startup Recycles AC Water For Cannabis Growers: Change Of Events

In 2009, Molinar was arrested for a marijuana trafficking charge. The charge was expunged years later. However, following his arrest, he decided to develop this technology.

After realizing how wasteful air conditioning can be, Molinar got innovative. Grow rooms always need AC units because the lights used to grow the cannabis heat up the entire room. So, extensive air conditioning is necessary for a healthy harvest.

However, Molinar realized how much water is wasted from AC units and decided he would go a different route.

Molinar then tests the water coming out of his AC unit and realizes it’s cleaner than the water from the drinking faucet. “I was like, what’s going on here?” He says.

NOTE: Don’t take this as the go-ahead to drink the drippings from your AC unit! Molinar’s AC units were so clean because he would change the filter out monthly, along with the plant’s growth cycles.

How Does It Work?

After cleaning your air conditioner, a UV light is added to the air handler, which prevents mold, bacteria, and viruses.

Then, two (AC condenser) pumps and a pressure pump are added to your unit to transfer water into a storage tank. Then the water goes through a filter to your fridge or garden.

Molinar is working on licensing the technology to air conditioning companies so they can carry out the installations. Additionally, he is pitching it as a resource for emergency responders during natural disasters.