An Atmospheric water generator (AWG), is a device that extracts water from humid ambient air. An AWG operates in a manner very similar to that of a refrigerated dehumidifier: air is passed over a cooled coil, causing water to condense. The rate of water production depends on the humidity, the volume of air passing over the coil, and the machine's capacity to cool the coil.

The device is very useful for locations where pure drinking water is difficult to obtain or impossible to have, as there is always water in the air.

History

Collecting water from the air has been a practice for some 2,000 years, in the form of "air wells" in Middle Eastern deserts, and later in Europe. Around the 1400s, we see water-collecting Dew Ponds, and later the Fog Fences, which have for hundreds of years have been used in Europe to collect clean water from the air. In the early 1970s, Melvin Littrell began producing water from the air with a system that did not need a compressor. Through this development, the creation of the first real Atmospheric Water Generator was produced. In 1990, Littrell patented the system's technology as an AWG or atmospheric water generator.

They are available in various sizes and styles, ranging from domestic systems that produce 32 oz. a day to all-electronic units producing 75 liters per day with compressors, and finally to commercial applications that can produce from 35,000 to 109,000 gallons of water each day.