Solar Paint: Transform Your Entire House Into a Source of Clean Energy

Using both sunshine and moisture can produce clean energy.

POWERFUL PAINT

A rising number of innovative technologies and efforts are making it easier to powerhouses with sustainable energy. Some government initiatives assist homeowners with the financial burden of installing energy-generating solar panels on their homes, while Tesla's roofing tiles that double as solar panels have been designed to offer solar power generation an aesthetic boost. Now, a new Australian innovation could make renewable energy even more tempting.

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) has invented a paint that can generate clean energy. The paint blends titanium oxide, which is already found in many wall paints, with synthetic molybdenum-sulfide, a novel component. The latter works similarly to the silica gel found in many consumer products to prevent harm by absorbing moisture.

The material collects solar energy as well as moisture from the surrounding air, according to a study on RMIT's website. The water can then be divided into hydrogen and oxygen, with the hydrogen collected for use in fuel cells or to power a vehicle.

“The simple addition of the new material can convert a brick wall into energy harvesting and fuel production real estate,” explained lead researcher, Dr. Torben Daeneke.

THE FUTURE OF ENERGY

Despite the fact that the paint isn't projected to be commercially viable for another five years, Daeneke told Inverse that he believes the final product will be inexpensive to make. He also believes that the paint will work in a variety of settings, from damp to hot and dry near major bodies of water: “Any place that has water vapor in the air, even remote areas far from water, can produce fuel.”

The paint might be used to cover regions where there isn't enough sunlight to justify the installation of solar panels, increasing any property's ability to create renewable energy. Any painted surface, such as a fence, a shed, or a doghouse, might be converted into an energy-producing structure.

When this new material reaches customers, it will join an ever-growing list of cutting-edge technologies that are propelling humanity away from fossil fuels and toward a future powered by clean, renewable energy sources.

Source: Futurism

About the Writers:

Maina Zaina, Writer and a Virtual Assistant at AVCreativity Studio. She enjoys media entertainment and is an avid fan of "K-Wave". She loves her job because she is exposed to different types of entertainment. She also believes in the saying "If you want to be successful, don't seek success - seek competence, empowerment; do nothing short of the best that you can do" by Jaggi Vasudev

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