Underexplored Dimensions of Emerging Indoor Photovoltaics
G. Krishnamurthy Grandhi, Bruno Damien, Zeynab Skafi, Kezia Sasitharan, Hani Kanaan, Hasan Alkhatib, Sadok Ben Dkhil, Matthew J. Carnie, Marina Freitag, Thomas M. Brown, Paola Vivo
TL;DR
This paper explores how indoor photovoltaics can power IoT devices without batteries by considering real-world lighting and design factors.
Contribution
The paper introduces a deployment-centered approach for indoor photovoltaics, emphasizing realistic testing and integration strategies.
Findings
Realistic mixed lighting conditions significantly affect indoor photovoltaic performance.
Integrating absorber bandgap and power management improves device efficiency for IoT applications.
Photon-to-compute metrics help link harvested power to device functionality.
Abstract
Indoor photovoltaics (IPVs) can significantly reduce reliance on disposable batteries in Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Yet, most evaluations use idealized lighting setups and single performance metrics, neglecting the influence of real indoor environments on device performance. This Perspective advances a deployment-centered approach: (i) realistic testing under mixed or hybrid lighting (daylight + artificial); (ii) intelligent integration that aligns absorber bandgap, series-connected cells, geometric fill factor, and power management integrated circuits with workloads and duty cycles; and (iii) IoT-ready stability assessed under the same realistic indoor scenes and light/dark sequences. We propose a compact field-to-lab pipeline, translate it into voltage-matching design rules, and use photon-to-compute metrics to link harvested power to on-device sensing and learning. The goal is…
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Taxonomy
TopicsPhotovoltaic Systems and Sustainability · Photovoltaic System Optimization Techniques · Solar Radiation and Photovoltaics