Standardized testing might fast-track indoor solar energy for good units
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 21, 2025
Researchers from Simon Fraser College’s (SFU) Faculty of Sustainable Power Engineering (SEE) have launched a brand new framework to standardize the testing of indoor photo voltaic technology-an advance that might speed up the deployment of self-powered good units and enhance confidence in efficiency knowledge throughout the sphere.
Led by SEE professor Vincenzo Pecunia and his Sustainable Optoelectronics Analysis Group, the research establishes a benchmark for correct, reproducible measurement of indoor photovoltaic (IPV) effectivity below real-world lighting situations. The work, lately printed within the journal Joule, marks SFU’s first analysis article to seem within the high-impact vitality publication-and the college’s first journal cowl function in Joule.
Indoor photovoltaics convert ambient gentle into electrical energy to energy small electronics reminiscent of sensors, IoT programs and good units. These applied sciences might scale back reliance on disposable batteries, which pose main environmental issues on account of their poisonous chemical parts and waste. Nevertheless, IPV testing has lengthy been hampered by inconsistent measurement strategies arising from the huge variability of indoor lighting environments.
“IPV growth requires correct, benchmarkable efficiency knowledge, which is presently hindered by inconsistencies in characterization and benchmarking strategies,” stated Pecunia. “The sphere presently faces a reliability disaster, with reported advances usually obscured by measurement inaccuracies.”
To sort out this, the SFU workforce analyzed how various check setups and light-weight situations affect efficiency outcomes. They found that IPV effectivity readings can range dramatically below diffuse or scattered light-the kind commonest indoors-making knowledge tough to match between laboratories. The researchers developed a set of standardized testing methods to make sure IPV efficiency measurements stay dependable below real looking lighting situations.
Their work additionally addresses a serious hole in the way in which indoor gentle spectra are labeled. The research revealed that merely describing a bulb as “heat white” or “cool white” is insufficient, as these labels cowl tons of of spectral variations. To beat this, the group proposed a common “reference cell” that acts as a calibration tool-translating indoor lighting into standardized efficiency benchmarks throughout totally different analysis amenities.
By establishing a constant basis for IPV characterization and reporting, Pecunia and his workforce goal to take away one of many key boundaries to business adoption. Their pointers are anticipated to assist researchers and producers design extra environment friendly units able to harvesting gentle from on a regular basis indoor environments, powering the subsequent era of good, sustainable know-how.
Analysis Report:Accurate performance characterization, reporting, and benchmarking for indoor photovoltaics
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