Self-Powered Monitoring Platform for Energy-Efficient Buildings

This work presents a self-powered platform for indoor environmental monitoring, designed to operate autonomously under typical indoor lighting. The system integrates a perovskite photovoltaic module, a hybrid energy storage unit combining a lithium-ion battery and an ecofriendly supercapacitor, and a low-power microcontroller managing sensing and communication tasks. Environmental parameters—temperature, humidity, CO2, and illuminance—are measured using both commercial sensors and a biodegradable temperature sensor based on a gelatin-graphene composite. Power management is handled by a dedicated IC that ensures efficient energy harvesting and storage. Wireless data transmission is performed via LoRa, selected for its low power consumption and long-range indoor performance. Experimental evaluation shows that the system requires approximately 22 J per day, with sufficient energy harvested under 200 lux conditions. The proposed solution demonstrates the feasibility of sustainable, maintenance-free monitoring in smart buildings, combining low-power electronics with environmentally responsible materials.