Researchers at Simon Fraser University in Canada have proposed protocols for standardized testing to avoid skewed results. The validated recommendations cover procedures for key measurements and the use of the indoor PV reference cell method.
With first-hand experience with the complexities of testing indoor PV devices, researchers from Simon Fraser University in Canada identified how certain test setups and protocols can skew results and then proposed protocols for standardized testing.
Backed up by experimentation and validation, the recommendations cover key procedures such as where and how to focus the light source on samples and the use of the IPV reference cell method.
Indoor photovoltaic (IPV) devices harvest energy from various sources of artificial light: incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). It’s not the only way they differ from conventional solar PV technology. “Unlike solar photovoltaics, IPV involves a wide diversity of lighting conditions, instrumentation and testing procedures, making accurate characterization particularly challenging,” said corresponding author Vincenzo Pecunia PV magazine.
The sheer variety of lamps and unique spectra used to assess IPV performance makes it nearly impossible to benchmark results in the literature. “This motivated us to explore better ways to standardize IPV characterization and benchmarking, not only for our own research, but to benefit the broader research community and promote real progress in the field,” Pecunia said.
Details of the work appear in “Accurate performance characterization, reporting and benchmarking for indoor photovoltaics‘Published by Joule.
Accurate characterization is essential to determine whether or not reported results reflect “actual progress or merely differences in test conditions or inconsistent characterization practices.”
“Getting the numbers right is critical to advancing the technology and realizing the many potential applications that can benefit from IPV,” Pecunia explained.
The team initially sought expertise from Behrang Hamadani of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to explore the versatility of the IPV reference cell method. This effort ultimately allowed them to experimentally establish the primacy of the IPV reference cell for characterization across different spectra, angles of incidence, and device types, according to Pecunia.
He described the function of the IPV reference cell as a calibrated PV device that translates measurements taken under an indoor light into the corresponding results under standard reference conditions, allowing direct IPV benchmarking across laboratories.
Later, the team collaborated with Germany-based organic photovoltaic manufacturer ASCA and Canada-based Rayleigh Solar Tech, a developer of Perovskite solar cell technology, to test devices at “real-world scales” while gaining insights into industrial requirements and practical considerations.
The work has strengthened the researchers’ view of IPV as a “very promising opportunity” for emerging photovoltaic technologies. “Unlike large-scale solar, indoor PV is more approachable in terms of performance. Perovskite and organic materials actually offer a remarkable efficiency advantage under typical indoor conditions, which is almost the reverse of what we see in conventional solar photovoltaics,” Pecunia said.
The study addressed key characterization challenges: “Issues previously unaddressed in the literature and in the recently issued IEC standard on IPV characterization,” such as angular effects, device-dependent inaccuracies due to light source functions, and the limitations of benchmarking based on color-temperature and spectral coincidence, according to the groups that can trust the group “, the groups themselves can be aware of the use of IPV technology. and a solid characterization platform.
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