Indoor Photovoltaic Energy Harvesting and Power Management for IoT Devices

Abstract

This study describes the indoor photovoltaic energy harvesting and power management circuitry applied in IoT devices using small solar cells. To evaluate the parameter optimization of the solar cell and capacitor, the relationship between the output of the indoor photovoltaic cell and the capacitor charging time was evaluated.The capacitor storage time was studied by changing the capacity used to store the power produced by indoor photovoltaic power generation. Indoor photovoltaics can generate sufficient power by obtaining sunlight from windows as well as lighting. In such a case, the power storage circuit can be operated; subsequently, the IoT device can operate at night. These results show that there is a correlation between the time required for IoT devices to operate and charge, depending on the brightness of the room.