The short answer is yes, artificial light can power a solar panel. Since it comes with a built-in battery system, you can turn on the streets when there is no direct sunlight.

The energy output of the solar panel will also vary depending on the type of bulb, the type of light (warm or cold), the intensity, correct angle and wavelength of the artificial light.

How do solar panels work?

Solar panels convert sunlight into electricity. There are two basic ways that this happens: photovoltaic cells absorb light and generate electrons; and thermal cells heat water and produce steam. Photovoltaic cells are made of silicon, copper, cadmium telluride, or amorphous silicon. Thermal cells are made of glass, polysilicon, or gallium arsenide. Some solar panels combine both technologies. Most solar panels are installed on rooftops for visible light, but some can be placed on windowsills or walls. To maximize efficiency, you should install your solar panels facing south.

Solar lights are commonly used to replace normal street lighting on roads, tracks, stadiums, stations and more. There exist two types, monocrystalline and polycrystalline. Solar panels can work with artificial light. However, their performance and energy production will never be as high as if they were exposed to direct sunlight. However some of them needs to be charged with indirect sunlight.

Some of the solar cells cannot work effectively on rainy and cloudy weather, due to lack of sunlight. Monocrystalline panels tend to have a higher efficiency than polycrystallinesolar panels. Therefore, we can ask ourselves, is it possible that solar panels can take advantage of electricity from other light sources, such as incandescent or fluorescent bulbs? Depending on the power, the number of bulbs and the distance the solar panel is from the light source, it will determine the intensity of the charge that the solar light receives and the amount of watts that the solar panel can produce to power other objects.

In addition, batteries are recyclable and do not harm the environment. Most solar street lights are always installed in lighting structures. They are made of rechargeable batteries. The photovoltaic panels of these street lights are responsible for charging these batteries through various sources of light.

Can solar panels work at night?

At night, charged batteries power LED or fluorescent lights. In addition, as far as the operating principle of the solar street light is concerned, some of them have sensors that allow the solar panels to turn on and off automatically when they detect the outside light with the help of the light source. Most of them are designed to work at night. They have photovoltaic panels that are responsible for absorbing solar energy, which is then stored in batteries as electricity, to power the solar street lighting system during the night.

What are different kinds of solar panels?

Among many solar panels, there are three most common and practical:

• monocrystalline silicon solar panes
• polycrystalline silicon solar panels
• amorphous silicon solar panels.

Amorphous (a-Si), gallium arsenide (GaAs), dye sensitized (DSSC) and organic solar cells are primarily restricted to the visible light. In the principle of operation of the solar street light, the controller is responsible for determining when to turn on and off lighting and charging solar batteries. Off-grid solar street lights consist of a solar panel assembly mounted on the top of the pole and mounted facing south without shading. By using solar street lights, users can promote sustainable energy through solar power and minimize pollution significantly.

How to choose a solar lighting battery?

The general principle for selecting the battery capacity is to first meet the night lighting needs and, secondly, to store as much energy as possible from the solar panel during the day, while satisfying the electrical energy needed for continuous cloudy and rainy night lighting. Under current solar technology, solar street lights are well designed to operate uninterruptedly with minimal intervention. Solar panels charge batteries during the day to provide the energy needed for the operation of sunlight or various sources of light during the night. However, if you want your solar street lights to run all night long, you need to install more solar panels.

In conclusion, we can say that solar panels work well under natural sunlight, but solar cells do not work well when using artificial light. In addition, there are some issues regarding the sources of light used, such as the wavelength spectrum. This study concludes that solar panels cannot be used as a reliable energy source unless the artificial light is very close to the spectrum of natural sunlight.