Will Next Generation Photovoltaics Power the Internet of Things?
Matt Carnie a, Krishna Seunarine a, Suzanne Thomas a, Gethin Thomas a, Zaid Haymoor a
a Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Bay Campus, Swansea, SA1 8EN, UK
Materials for Sustainable Development Conference (MATSUS)
Proceedings of Materials for Sustainable Development Conference (MAT-SUS) (NFM22)
#AppTGT - Application Targets for Next Generation Photovoltaics
Barcelona, Spain, 2022 October 24th - 28th
Organizers: Nasim Zarrabi and Paul Meredith
Invited Speaker, Matt Carnie, presentation 211
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.nfm.2022.211
Publication date: 11th July 2022

Intel corporation predict that by the end of 2020, up to 200 billion connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices came online and this is predicted to consume over 1000 TWh yr-1 by 2025. To put this in perspective, this is over 1300 x the energy output of EU’s largest solar plant, Núñez de Balboa. The increasing digital interconnectivity of our everyday lives means that this energy burden will only increase in the coming decades. In addition, many portable IoT devices incorporate primary batteries, which consume valuable materials. One solution to this growing demand is the coupling of IoT nodes with energy harvesting devices, such as photovoltaics cells which could provide power to IoT nodes and avoid the need to replace primary batteries.

Hybrid solar cells such as perovskites, OPVs and DSSCs, have all shown promising performance in ambient light [1], meaning that any of these technologies could be candidates to power future IoT devices. Despite the promise of these PV technologies, work needs to be done especially around standards for testing. There is currently no consensus on what constitutes “ambient light” both in terms of spectral and power output and it is difficult to compare results from one laboratory to the next. We can predict the path of the Sun for any given point on Earth, but predicting how much light power is available in any given ambient scenario is difficult and reliant on human factors such as available light sources (e.g. CFT, LED, natural, or combination) and position of the solar cell relative to the light source.

This presentation will explore these issues, discussing what we mean when we say low or ambient light, and showing the results of maximum power measurement in real and simulated scenarios and how in some cases, an IV curve measured at single lux value is not an accurate predicator of real-world performance. Examples of IoT devices powered by organic and perovskite PVs will be shown and real-World performance discussed.

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