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Disaster Relief Water Action Movement Water Wisdom

Water from Air Explained: How Atmospheric Water Generators Work

Imagine drinking water that never touched the ground.
Thanks to modern technology, that’s now a reality with Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs) — machines that make water from air.

In this post, we’ll explore how these powerful devices work, the science behind them, and why they’re rapidly becoming the future of clean, sustainable drinking water.

What Is an Atmospheric Water Generator?

 

An Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) is a device that extracts moisture from ambient air and turns it into pure, drinkable water. It does this by condensing the humidity present in the atmosphere — much like how dew forms on grass in the early morning.

AWGs are a game-changer for:

  • Homes in drought-prone areas
  • Off-grid and emergency survival
  • Hotels, schools, and commercial buildings
  • Regions with contaminated or unreliable water sources

How Does It Work? (The Science, Simply Explained)

 

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how an AWG creates water from air:

1. Air Intake

The machine pulls in ambient air through a high-efficiency air filter, removing dust and particles.

2. Condensation

Inside the unit, a cooling system chills the air to its dew point — the temperature at which water vapor turns into liquid. This is the same principle behind water droplets forming on a cold glass.

3. Collection

The condensed water drips into a collection tank, similar to how your air conditioner removes moisture — but this time, it’s purified for drinking.

4. Purification

Before reaching your glass, the water is passed through:

Multi-stage filtration

UV sterilization

Mineralization (optional) for better taste and health

5. Storage or Dispensing

Clean water is stored in a sealed internal tank and can be accessed like a regular water dispenser — hot or cold.

Why Is This Technology So Important?

 

1. No Pipes, No Wells

AWGs don’t rely on plumbing, wells, or bottled deliveries. They’re standalone systems — just plug them in.

2. Environmentally Friendly

Reduces plastic waste from bottled water

No groundwater depletion

No chemical contamination

3. Reliable in Emergencies

When floods, contamination, or infrastructure failures hit, AWGs can still provide a consistent source of water.

How Much Water Can You Get from Air?

That depends on:

  • Humidity: More moisture = more water production
  • Temperature: Warm climates help
  • Machine size: Home units vs. industrial-scale AWGs

For example, Altitude Water’s AWGs can produce up to 10–30+ liters of water per day, depending on the model and environment.

Is Water from Air Safe to Drink?

 

Yes — in fact, it’s often safer than tap water.

Because AWGs bypass old plumbing, underground pipes, and contaminants, and because they include UV sterilization and filtration, the resulting water is:

  • Free of bacteria
  • Free of heavy metals
  • Free of PFAS and chlorine

Who Uses Atmospheric Water Generators?

 

  • Homes & apartments: For clean daily drinking water
  • Off-grid cabins and RVs
  • Disaster relief agencies and NGOs
  • Schools & hospitals in remote or underserved areas
  • Luxury hotels offering eco-luxury amenities

Altitude Water: Pure Drinking Water, Anywhere

 

At Altitude Water, we’re on a mission to make clean water accessible to all — using the air around us.

With state-of-the-art technology, energy efficiency, and elegant designs, our AWGs are trusted by families, communities, and organizations around the world.

👉 Explore Our Atmospheric Water Generators
👉 Request a Quote or Demo Today

FAQs

 

❓How much energy does an AWG use?

AWGs typically use about 200–300 watts per liter produced. Models vary in efficiency, but solar-compatible options are available.

❓Do they work in dry climates?

AWGs work best in humid environments (above 30% RH), but some newer models can still extract water in dry regions using desiccant-based technology.

❓Is the water mineralized?

 

Most units offer optional mineralization filters for taste and health. Pure H₂O is also available for medical or specialty use.

Final Thoughts

 

Atmospheric water generators aren’t just futuristic tech — they’re here, they work, and they can change lives.

In a world where clean water is increasingly scarce, pulling water from the air might just be the most sustainable solution we have.

Ready to Drink Water from Air?
Visit Altitude Water and see how you can own a machine that makes clean water — anytime, anywhere.

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Water Wisdom

The Perfect Storm

Where did February go?  So busy preparing for the Perfect Storm
we didn’t get to Feb’s blog, so here she is as the news likes to say:
‘LATE BREAKING’

Sorry, brave and loyal readers.  We apologize for the delay but after you read this blog we believe you will understand. We feel so blessed we’re able to predict this Perfect Storm brewing on the horizon. We just hoped our company would survive and be there to help people through this powerful mixture of events (it’s not easy being so early in the game as a disruptive technology). These events are occurring at just the right time in our growth cycle(we would have preferred earlier, but as with all weather events, these things are tough to predict, and we must trust God’s timing and He provided us the right partners at the perfect time). Blessed to say we have survived and are STRONGER than ever.

What is a Perfect Storm?  Did you see the movie, the 2000 release with George Clooney depicting the 1991 Halloween Nor’easter?  The film combined three meteorological events to create the “Perfect Storm.”

The Collins dictionary defines Perfect Storm best as “an unusual combination of events or things that produce an unusually bad or powerful result.”

Our Perfect Storm focuses on the powerful result (not the bad although the frequency of weather storms does have a bad result for the residents whose pain we try to ease) as there have been three events that have created the PERFECT STORM (and of course we will use it to make the best water).

Event #1- Science and the Media have caught up to the water pollution problem AND the plastic problem.

This month the news was awash with tons of stories on both issues.  The recent articles regarding the contamination of our aquifers and the percentages of our municipal systems have been shocking, even to us.  The fact is the EPA has not put new contaminates on the testing list or a standard for testing for them or a safe limit, which is hugely concerning.

Let me give you a perfect example of this that I discussed at a FEMA/Army Corp of Engineers community meeting in Kula Maui when I was there in October.

We all know the growth of EV and the most prominent element in the batteries is lithium.  They were discussing the air testing that was done after the fires and the high content of lithium that prevented them from allowing people back to their homes and the community wanted the data.

As the lithium came from the EVs being burned,  I of course asked what the water tests showed regarding lithium and was told that they didn’t test for it in the water.  When I inquired why not if it was in the air, they responded, “The EPA hasn’t given us testing parameters or procedures to test for lithium in the water.”

WHAT, NO TESTS?

Excuse me, I said to them. You know it’s in the air and you prevented people from going back into their homes because of it, yet you haven’t tested for it in the water because the EPA hasn’t given you water testing guidelines?   That absurd, I thought. You can’t make this stuff up.  I posted live videos on our FB page of us attending the meetings.

DON’T BELIEVE ME?

Here is a link to the EPA’s Technical Data Sheet for lithium- https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-11/ucmr5-technical-fact-sheet-lithium-in-drinking-water.pdf

Look at UCMR 5 as it states the following-

“SDWA (Safe Drinking Water Act) requires that every five years the EPA publish monitoring requirements for priority contaminants that may be present in drinking water and do not have EPA drinking water regulatory standards. UCMR 5, which includes lithium, spans 2022 – 2026, with sample collection by public water systems (PWSs) from 2023 – 2025 and the completion of data reporting in 2026 (EPA, 2021a; EPA, 2021b). Learn more about UCMR 5.”

It states right there those chemicals in UCMR 5 “do not have EPA drinking water regulatory standards.”  In other words, we are monitoring the situation every 5 years and we will get back to you.  Man, that doesn’t exactly make me feel better.  How about you?

Now we have all seen the new studies released this month regarding microplastics in bottled water.  Here is a quote from the study conducted by the NIH, “The researchers found that, on average, a liter of bottled water included about 240,000 tiny pieces of plastic. About 90% of these plastic fragments were Nano plastics. This total was 10 to 100 times more plastic particles than seen in earlier studies, which mostly focused on larger microplastics.” https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/plastic-particles-bottled-water#:~:text=The%20researchers%20found%20that%2C%20on,mostly%20focused%20on%20larger%20microplastics.

We have stated this for a decade (and been called fear mongers), but I know that if I put a case of water in the sun for a week the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) readings will go through the roof.  I could maintain the seal on the water bottle but the number of particles inside would increase.  While a TDS reading doesn’t tell you what the particle is that’s increasing, but what else could it be?  The bottle is sealed. The only thing in contact with the water is the plastic bottle.  Anyone remember Sheryl Crow saying she got breast cancer from drinking unopened hot bottled water in her car that she put back in the fridge?  The bottled water industry and the media lambasted her for that statement.

Microplastics affect the cells in your body.  Water will only hydrate you if it crosses the cell membrane.  If it doesn’t, all it does is pass through your body.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand tiny particles of plastic might block this process or severely damage your cells.  Also, what is plastic made of? Petroleum. Yea that sure seems healthy, doesn’t it?

We stand vindicated for bringing this up a decade ago and now the public has the facts.  That’s a pretty powerful Event #1 right there.

Event #2- The increased efficiency and Government Subsidies for Alternate Energy has made it a viable alternative to Municipal Electrical Utilities’ and the Government Subsidies for adding solar and AWGs more economical.

I have been blessed over the past two months to be interviewed by numerous publications and radio shows discussing the Environment and our technology (Environmental Impact with Environmentalist icon Nancy Pearlman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcY93xxPS4I&t=32s  and Authority Magazine naming me a Social Impact Hero http://tinyurl.com/Authority-Magazine  to name two) and I also have an article being published in Energies Magazine March issue that discusses this exactly (we will post when its published this month).

Getting tax credits for buying solar and knowing you have a set capital cost that can be amortized over 7 years makes AWG technology attractive and more economical than in past years.  It also allows you to control two of the most important commodities for living a safe, peaceful and healthy life–water and electricity.

I will not go into detail in this blog as the article will come out soon and I am honored and blessed that Energies felt it was worth publishing, but we have finally secured great solar partners to co-market our products.  The partnership with NUE Use Energy that was released last month and our working and testing relationship with the Non-profit Footprint.org has put us in a position that no other AWG company has.

We have tested our products together and now offer solar solutions to our customers on our website.  We are about to unveil our solar page as well.  Only being in this industry for the past 15 years has given us the reputation and trust for other companies in the alternate energy industry to want to partner with us. We are also finishing our South Florida Disaster Relief Trailer with our AWGs run on solar.  Thank you, Mind Army, for having the vision to support this cause and LGNDS for making a huge donation to protect South Florida during a disaster.

Event #3- Civil unrest and lingering fear over what is happening in the world

War in Israel and Gaza. In Ukraine. China and the US at odds with balloons being floated over our Country.  Extremists in BOTH parties (not being political but the word moderate seems to have left the dictionary) seemingly unable to find any common ground.  I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say the world is in a mess right now.

Now we wish this wasn’t the case and we are not trying to feed into the fear, but we have seen a larger group of people that want to secure their access to safe water and electricity. We have always believed, with groundwater pollution and other aspects affecting our planet, that it is a great idea to secure your own safe water supply.  It’s the reason why we have invested so much money in building the best AWGs on the market.  But we wish there wasn’t all this unrest to help prove our point.

It does make sense.  With unrest and wars not being fought the traditional way (now with unmanned drones, bioweapons, threats of EMP, farming industry being controlled, and farmland being bought up by the rich, and experiencing supply problems with COVID etc) have caused even the most ardent city dwellers looking to move to the country and become sustainable and resilient.

The prepper movement is no longer fringe.  It’s mainstream. Heck, we have a new hit TV show Modern Homestead that follows two Californians – Janna Breslin and Evan DeMarco that move to Tennessee to learn how to Homestead https://youtu.be/wFB4hDoMI1M?si=uW1XOPY0vuueviKK

Three events all move together at one point in time to create the Perfect Storm.  Sorry we missed the February Blog, but we have been busy giving people the right tools to be resilient to weather this storm.

Have a blessed and safe March everyone and Lord willing we will be back in April to update you on our progress.

If this blog has piqued your interest, we would love for you to become a Water Warrior and join the movement to give every human the right to access pure safe drinking water.

So, for the good of the planet, your loved ones and yourself, I urge you to become a . . .

Water Warrior!