The capability of the glass pyramid shape with a multi-shelf solar system to extract water from humid air is explored. Two pyramids were used with different types of beds on the shelves. The beds are saturated with 30% concentrated Calcium Chloride solution. The pyramid sides were opened at night to allow the bed saturated with moist air and closed during the day to extract the moisture from the bed by solar radiation. The bed in the first pyramid was made of saw wood while it is made of only cloth in the second pyramid with the same dimensions. The system was experimentally investigated at different climatic conditions to study the effect of pyramid shape on the absorption and regeneration processes. Preliminary results have shown that the cloths bed absorbs more solution (9 kg) as compared to the saw wood bed (8 kg). Adopting this approach produces 2.5 L/day m(2). The use of the pyramid shape with four glass surfaces and multi-shelves enhances the produced water by 90-95% compared with solar desiccant/collector system with horizontal and corrugated beds. Results also show that the clothes bed has higher productivity than that of saw wood bed by about 5%. This is due mainly to the greater carrying solution at the onset of the experimental work. The obtained results may help in designing more efficient system. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.