The company, Element Four, has developed a WaterMill that uses electricity of about three light bulbs to condense moisture from the air and purify it into clean drinking water.

The WaterMill pulls water from the air outside or inside of the house supplying enough drinking water for a family of six. The device is about 3ft in diameter, made of white plastic, and is attached to the wall.

"Our air contains 4,000 cubic miles of water. If it were a lake it would be roughly the size of the Great Lakes combined - which is the world's largest body of fresh water - and would be constantly replenished by Earth's natural cycle. Even in countries with severe water shortages, the air is humid enough to yield huge amounts of precious water and WaterMill has the potential to convert 10% to 40% of that to liquid."

The mill ceases to be effective below about 30 per cent relative humidity levels, which are common later in the day in states such as Arizona. To combat that problem, the machine has an intelligent computer built into it that increases its output at dawn when humidity is highest, and reduces it from mid-afternoon when a blazing sun dries the air.

Based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Element Four was founded by Jonathan Ritchey and Rick Howard to create a sustainable solution to the world’s water problems by developing a line of systems that produce clean, fresh water from the ultimate sustainable resource: air.

The WaterMill was on display this weekend in the WIRED Store in New York City that showcased some of the latest gizmos its editors believe could change the world.

Visit Element Four  Website