Could humidity power join the list of renewable energy sources?

 Yes , it is going to join the list soon.

Energy harnessed from humidity can power  devices .

As we survive  the dog days of summer, it's probably best to remind ourselves that when it comes to excessively uncomfortable seasonal climates, "it's hot," as the cliché goes, "the heat. It's the humidity." As it happens, that same turn of phrase is also the key to an exciting development in green energy that might one day help power some of our smaller gadgets and gizmos, using nothing but airborne moisture. Yes, the same abundant, and entirely free, humidity that makes the summer so unbearable may someday help power the very air conditioning that saves us from the heat.

Water evaporation is the largest power source in nature. In an effort to demonstrate the potential of this untapped resource, researchers have created prototype electrical generators with rubber sheets that move in response to changes in humidity thanks to a coating of bacterial spores. They  have built devices that harness changes in atmospheric humidity to generate small amounts of electricity, lift tiny weights, and even power a toy car.

A laboratory in New York University-Abu Dhabi, UAE is leading the research on developing smarter and more efficient technologies, including the use of humidity as a source of energy.

Professor Prance Naumov, who has already been awarded the prestigious Humboltd Research Award, is leading the ground-breaking and innovative project at the university involving the UAE's only equipment for X-ray crystallography.

His research is about making new and efficient materials. He calls these new products smart materials because they work better than what we already have.

Researcher Lindong  is even exploring types of energy that aren't widely used to come up with different ways of energy conversion. One of the alternative methods of energy conversion is the use of humidity.  He has managed to develop a device that transfers and converts humid air into  electricity, so this becomes a very clean and green way of creating electricity.

From the UAE's perspective, it can be very beneficial because humidity is often and abundantly present in the country, so it can be  used as a source of energy in the future.

It will take some time before this technology can be used commercially. The research is also placing the UAE as one of the leading countries in the development of new and innovative ways of using clean technologies.

Let's keep our fingers crossed to see and use humidity as a source of fuel, soon.

 Source : Gulf News , Edarabia , nyuad , The National.