This Mumbai-Based Company Made An Upside-Down Umbrella To Collect And Purify Water

Meet the Ulta Chaata: an upside-down umbrella-like structure designed to let users collect and purify rainwater during monsoon, and harvest solar energy for the rest of the year. If there is any clean-tech product that aptly taps into Mumbai’s infuriating weather anomalies for a good cause, it is this inverted umbrella designed by the startup Thinkφ.
Founded by Samit Choksi and Priya Vakil Choksi and comprising an impressive team of engineers with backgrounds in sustainable design, computer science, environmental science, and industrial design, Mumbai-based Thinkφ aims to become the planet’s most sustainable company. The clean-tech startup particularly focuses on three pillars of sustainability – water, waste, and energy.

Specializing in building aesthetically pleasing, clean technological products that will contribute to environmental sustainability, the company has only recently debuted its first product. Frustrated by the wastage of rainwater – the purest form of water falling on earth – in cities around the country, Thinkφ declared their intention to build a product that would considerably change the ease of and attitude towards rainwater collection and purification. The result, the Ulta Chaata, is a visually stunning shading structure as well as an empowering clean water and energy generator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXuHSzUWVoQ

The Ulta Chaata has the ability to filter about 100,000 litres of water coupled with a maximum solar capacity of 1.5 kilowatts. The water collected through the structure is processed through five separate filters, including activated carbon and UV filters, to eliminate microbial contamination, after which it becomes fit to drink. The generated solar power can be fed into a power grid, utilized to recharge a battery system or used directly with an inverter. Energy generated during the day is also utilized by the Ulta Chaata to provide lighting that automatically turns on as the sun sets. A single charge can provide about three days of lighting.

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