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Low Light Irradiance

What are Low Light Solar Panels?

Low Light Solar Panels are panels that work in low-light environments like indoor areas. In 1991, chemist Michael Graetzel of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne invented a different type of solar cell called dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) that work best in dim light and are cheaper than the standard semiconductors which are silicon in the case of solar cells. However, when exposed to normal day sunlight the DSSCs solar cells can only convert 14% of the energy in sunlight to electricity but on the other side traditional solar cells convert about 24% that’s because the light energy comes too fast for DSSCs to capture.

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What are the advantages and disadvantages of Low Light Solar Panels?

Advantages

1-Efficiency: Low Light Solar Panels are more efficient than all traditional solar panels as they can reach an efficiency of up to 30% in low-light areas making them very competitive with other types of solar panels.
2-Amount of light: Low Light Solar Panels can work from a very small amount of light for example the light from your light bulb or weak reflections of the normal sunlight.

Disadvantages

1-Normal Sunlight: Low Light Solar Panels can’t reach conversion efficiency with normal direct sunlight like other solar panels because they can only convert 14% when they are exposed to direct sunlight. That’s because it can only absorb low-speed light energy which can convert it with high efficiency.
2- Stability: Low Light Solar Panels are not yet that stable as researchers see that they need more time to bring such panels to the market in commercial quantities.

What are the use cases of Low Light Solar Panels?

1-Indoors: Low Light Solar Panels can capture light from indoor areas that are enough for humans to see and can be also converted to energy making this type of solar panel work at different times of the day.
2- Covered Areas: Low Light Solar Panels can work in places that are covered with sheds or anything because Low Light Solar Panels can work with the least amount of light available to convert it into electricity making these places good for harvesting electricity from low light.