Performance of PV-powered LED lighting systems for buildings

Although PV (photovoltaic)-powered fighting systems have existed for many years, they are not widely used, especially in lighting for buildings, due to their high initial cost and low conversion efficiency. One of the technical challenges facing PV-powered lighting systems has been how to use the DC power generated by the PV module to energize common light sources that are designed to operate efficiently under AC power. Usually, the efficacy of DC light sources is very poor compared to AC light sources. Rapid developments in LED (light-emitting diode) lighting systems have made this technology a potential candidate for PV-powered lighting systems. This study analyzed the efficiency of each component of PV-powered lighting systems to identify optimum system configurations for different applications.