Indoor Light Harvesting Using Dye Sensitized Solar Cell

Solar power has assumed a vital and established role in the present day's clean energy economy. Ever since silicon solar cells developed, the prime focus has always been to harness the outdoor sunlight. The indoor light, though of lesser intensity than its outdoor counterpart, has the potential to power on devices such as wireless sensor nodes (WSN) that work in the low power range. Harnessing electrical power from indoor lighting environment with very low luminance level is relatively anew and challenging concept. The limitation of the existing silicon solar cells to perform efficiently under the indoor lighting condition restricts its deployment. The Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC), also known as the next generation solar cell, with its better conversion efficiency can work effectively in low lighting conditions such as cloudy skies and indirect sunlight. In addition, it has the capability to absorb light from various light sources that are usually used to illuminate indoor rooms. The WSN systems are conventionally battery powered. The power storage capabilities of DSSCs could eliminate the additional need for a battery and thus reduces the number of batteries deposited into environment. The paper intends to carry out an experimental study on DSSC and its potential application as an energy harvester.