Perovskite: From Lab Breakthrough to Smart Home Game-Changer

Perovskite is a unique crystal structure that sat quietly in nature for nearly two centuries. Then in 2009, scientists experimented with using it as a dye in solar cells—and accidentally kicked off a total revolution in photovoltaics. Because it completely redefines what we thought solar energy could do, Science magazine named it one of the top ten tech breakthroughs in the world. It was also dubbed a top emerging technology by both the World Economic Forum and MIT Technology Review, while the scientists behind it have been top contenders for the Nobel Prize.

Traditional silicon solar panels took over half a century to get where they are today. Perovskite—the star of next-gen solar tech—reached that same level of efficiency in less than 20 years.

Standard silicon panels work great under bright outdoor sunlight, but they really struggle indoors or in dim spots. That's because silicon is an indirect bandgap material that needs a thick layer (hundreds of micrometers) just to absorb light. When light gets faint, internal energy loss skyrockets, causing voltage to drop off a cliff or stop working altogether.

Perovskite is a completely different story. Its core light-absorbing layer is ridiculously thin—around 700 nanometers, or roughly 1/100th the width of a human hair. Thanks to this razor-thin profile and its direct bandgap nature, it handles weak light extraordinarily well:

• Super Efficient Light Capture: It easily catches indoor light and indirect ambient glow, letting tiny electrical charges move freely without getting lost along the way.
• Generates Power in the Dark: Even in super dim environments between 100–300 Lux (think dark hallways, evening lamp glow, or gloomy rainy days), it reaches an indoor efficiency of 30%–40%. In short: if there's any light at all, it generates power, tossing out the old rule that you need direct sunlight.

At the end of the day, cool tech shouldn't just stay locked in a lab—it needs to solve real everyday problems. For smart homes, that means never having to worry about being locked out because your lock died, so you can just enjoy coming home.

Most front doors sit under deep porches or stay shaded by trees and roof overhangs. In these dark spots with barely any direct sun—or even indirect light—keeping a feature-packed, power-hungry smart lock running forever used to be practically impossible. LockPower Infinity uses a perovskite setup as the ultimate workaround to this physical limit.

Think of it as a light catcher that isn't picky at all. Under a shaded porch, as long as it gets a standard daytime light level around 2,000 Lux—or even the sparse ambient photons on a rainy day—whatever light touches the panel gets converted into power. That captured energy is more than enough to run a top-tier smart lock all day long.

You don't need to worry about which way your door faces, and there's no complicated setup required. Pure physics gives your smart lock the power to stay online, all the time.