Solar panels harvest energy across rooftops and fields. But in North Europe and Canada, we spend a lot of time indoors, under artificial light. The lamps that illuminate our homes, offices, and shops may also be the key to a quieter but equally powerful energy transition: indoor solar.
Why Indoor Solar Matters
Many of the devices we rely on — from smart thermostats to fitness trackers and security sensors — still run on batteries. In Europe and North America alone, billions of batteries are manufactured, used, and thrown away each year. This creates waste, drives demand for resource-intensive mining, and requires frequent replacement.
Indoor solar panels, designed to harvest energy from everyday LED and fluorescent lighting, offer a way out. They can provide continuous, renewable power for the growing ecosystem of low-energy electronics that surround us.
The Research Contribution
The paper explores how indoor solar can be integrated more effectively into sustainable living strategies. Its focus is not only on technical efficiency but also on how this technology fits within the broader social and environmental context of the Global North.
Key areas of analysis include:
- How indoor solar can reduce dependence on disposable batteries
- The potential for integration into household and office devices
- The environmental benefits of reducing electronic waste
- The scalability of the technology in dense urban settings
Key Findings
- Indoor solar can power the majority of low-energy devices that currently rely on disposable batteries.
- Adoption of indoor solar reduces battery waste and lowers the carbon footprint associated with mining and manufacturing.
- Widespread use in the Global North could significantly reduce demand for battery imports, strengthening energy resilience.
- Indoor solar is most effective when designed directly into the devices themselves, rather than as add-on panels.
Why This Matters for the Global North
Living more sustainably in wealthy, high-consumption societies means addressing not only how we generate energy outdoors, but also how we power the small technologies inside our buildings. Indoor solar does not demand large new infrastructure, yet its cumulative effect could be enormous — less waste, less mining, and a smoother integration of renewable power into everyday life.
This research shows that sustainability is not only about massive wind farms or desert solar arrays. It is also about subtle shifts that add up when adopted at scale. Indoor solar may be one of those shifts.
The Bigger Picture
As we reimagine how to live sustainably in the Global North, indoor solar highlights the power of overlooked spaces. By turning artificial light into renewable energy, it offers a way to cut waste and extend the principles of clean living into the very rooms where we spend our lives.
For a deeper dive into the technical breakthrough that recently pushed indoor photovoltaic efficiency to 37.6%, read:
Source
Reliable perovskite indoor photovoltaics for self-powered devices, National Science Review, Issue 12 / 8, August 2025, 2025-06-12
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