Size the AWG and its solar power honestly
AWGs use a lot of electricity per litre, so the power system usually decides how much air-water you can make. Size the unit and its share of the solar array and battery together.
How
- Use realistic energy figures. A 2020 RSC review gives about 1 to 4 L per kWh for cooling units and about 0.1 to 1 L per kWh for desiccant cycles, and says air-water needs more than a hundred times the energy of seawater desalination.
- A 2023 US study (Brenes and Chini) found about 0.02 to 3.64 kWh/L for refrigeration units and 3.19 to 5.29 kWh/L for solar sorption units. Arid climates were the most energy-hungry.
- Treat 0.02 kWh/L as the extreme low end of a modelled range, not a planning figure. For cooling units, plan with the RSC range of about 0.25 to 1 kWh/L.
- Read the maker's figure and its test condition. Example (manufacturer data): one home unit claims up to 30 L/day and 400 Wh/L (0.4 kWh/L) at 26.7 °C and 60 percent RH. Your site will differ.
- Derate the rated output for your humidity and temperature, using the maker's output chart if it has one. The awg-sizing calculator then raises energy per litre by the same factor and gives units needed and kWh/day.
- Add the AWG's kWh/day to the load audit (power-1) and rerun the solar array (power-10) and battery (power-12) sizing, or the pv-size and battery-size calculators in the power module.
- Note that heating modes can draw far more power: the same manufacturer lists 550 W nominal but up to 2,600 W (230 V) when heating. Size the inverter (power-13) for that peak.
- Run the AWG in daytime on surplus solar where possible, since that avoids cycling the battery.
Do these first
Sources
- Energy performance and climate dependency of technologies for fresh water production from atmospheric water vapour (Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology, 2020). Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed 2026-11
- Temporal and spatial variability of energy intensity for atmospheric water generators (Brenes and Chini, Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 2023). IOP Publishing (DOAJ record), accessed 2026-11
- Genny home atmospheric water generator product page (manufacturer data). Watergen (manufacturer), accessed 2026-11