Technology
How to read a capacity figure without being misled
Every AWG is quoted at some set of conditions. Knowing which ones is the difference between a unit that meets your needs and one that disappoints in winter.
VidaTech · 14 March 2026 · 6 min read
A capacity figure on its own means very little. Output from any atmospheric water generator is a function of temperature and relative humidity, and a number quoted at 30°C and 80% humidity will not be the number you see in February.
Ask for the conditions
The first question to ask about any quoted capacity is what conditions it assumes. The second is what the output curve looks like across the range your site actually experiences. A unit specified honestly comes with both.
A capacity without conditions attached is a marketing number, not an engineering one.
Size for your worst month
The practical approach is to size against the month when conditions are least favourable and demand still has to be met, then treat the summer surplus as headroom rather than the baseline. That is a more conservative specification and it is the one that keeps working.
- Establish your daily requirement in litres, not in people.
- Check local humidity and temperature across the full year, not the annual average.
- Specify against the difficult months; store the surplus from the easy ones.
When we quote a VidaTech unit, we run this for your location before recommending a model. It occasionally means proposing a larger unit than you expected, and it consistently means the unit meets its brief.