Best practices for measuring the performance and stability of indoor photovoltaic devices

Chakraborty A, Lucarelli G, Singh V, Xu J, Skafi Z, Thakur D, Di Giacomo F, Shankar G, Calabrò E, De Rossi F, Almora O, Amiri P, Aramaki S, Bagnis D, Bannai T, Brabec C, Braga D, Burwell G, Brunetti F, Di Carlo A, Carnie M, Castriotta LA, Castro-Hermosa S, Ciocca M, Cui Y, Dagar J, Damien B, Dayneko SV, Doumon NY, Turkovic V, Forberich K, Freitag M, Gao F, Grancini G, Guo Z, Hamadani B, Hayes M, Hou J, Hoye RL, Jouin S, Jošt M, Kärhä P, Kauer M, Kirchartz T, Koutsourakis G, Kuge S, Lira-Cantu M, Mathews I, Madsen M, Auf der Maur M, Miyasaka T, Müller D, Priya S, Ratcliff EL, Reale A, Saidaminov MI, Sauvage F, Soman S, Tian Z, Topič M, Cabas Vidani A, Vivo P, Wang K, Wang Y, Wang ZK, Wojciechowski K, Würfel U, Xu X, Yaşa M, Yerci S, Zampetti A, Zhao K, Brown TM (2026)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2026

Journal

Book Volume: 11

Pages Range: 1241–1259

DOI: 10.1038/s41560-026-02101-x

Abstract

Indoor photovoltaics harvests energy from light available inside homes and buildings for powering the Internet of Things, wireless sensors and consumer and medical electronics. A major challenge in this field is a lack of standardized testing conditions. Here a team from more than 60 research institutions and companies proposes best practices for evaluating indoor photovoltaic performance and establishing baseline stability tests. We base these recommendations on recent experimental data, published literature, practices used in academic and industrial settings, technical specifications from standards organizations, lighting databases and existing regulations. We outline procedures that begin with the recommendation of a single artificial light source, followed by guidance on setting up measurement systems and a step-by-step guide for conducting measurements and tests. These procedures are consolidated into three checklists. Our aim is to promote accurate measurement of laboratory and commercial solar cells and modules under indoor lighting, facilitating comparability across academia and industry worldwide.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

Solertix Srl Italy (IT) Halocell Australia (AU) Università degli Studi di Roma 'Tor Vergata' Italy (IT) Toin University of Yokohama / 桐蔭横浜大学 Japan (JP) PHD Semicon Brazil (BR) Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) United States (USA) (US) University of Southern Denmark / Syddansk Universitet Denmark (DK) Fundación Escuela Tecnólogica de Neiva (FET) Colombia (CO) Edith Cowan University Australia (AU) Kyushu University / 九州大学 Japan (JP) Newcastle University United Kingdom (GB) e-peas S.A. Belgium (BE) Swansea University United Kingdom (GB) Free University of Bozen - Bolzano Italy (IT) Middle East Technical University (METU) / Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Turkey (TR) Soochow University, Suzhou / 苏州大学 China (CN) National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) / നാഷണൽ ഇൻസ്ററിററ്യൂട്ട് ഫോർ ഇൻറർ ഡിസിപ്ളിനറി സയൻസ് അൻഡ് ടെക്നോളജി, തിരുവനന്തപുരം India (IN) University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) China (CN) Forschungszentrum Jülich / Research Centre Jülich (FZJ) Germany (DE) Fluxim AG Switzerland (CH) Linköpings universitet / Linköping University Sweden (SE) Sensai Analytics United States (USA) (US) University of Victoria (UVic) Canada (CA) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) United States (USA) (US) Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) / 中国科学院 China (CN) Lightricity Ltd United Kingdom (GB) Changzhou University (CZU) / 常州大学 China (CN) University of Minnesota (UMN) United States (USA) (US) Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme (ISE) / Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems Germany (DE) University of Oxford United Kingdom (GB) University of Ljubljana (UL) / Univerza v Ljubljani Slovenia (SI) Saule Technologies / Saule Spółka Akcyjna Poland (PL) University of Picardie Jules Verne / Université de Picardie Jules Verne France (FR) Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) / Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Spain (ES) Tyndall National Institute / Tyndall Institiúid Naisiunta Ireland (IE) Università degli Studi di Pavia Italy (IT) Aalto University Espoo Finland (FI) Shaanxi Normal University (SNNU) / 陕西师范大学 China (CN) University of Tampere (UTA) / Tampereen yliopisto (Tay) Finland (FI) Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) Spain (ES) Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB) Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Chakraborty, A., Lucarelli, G., Singh, V., Xu, J., Skafi, Z., Thakur, D.,... Brown, T.M. (2026). Best practices for measuring the performance and stability of indoor photovoltaic devices. Nature Energy, 11, 1241–1259. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-02101-x

MLA:

Chakraborty, Abhisek, et al. "Best practices for measuring the performance and stability of indoor photovoltaic devices." Nature Energy 11 (2026): 1241–1259.

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