Utility-scale solar device shines in home lighting application

heliostatUntil recently, heliostats were only massive mirrors on motors used for large-scale concentrated solar power installations.

Massachusetts-based Wikoda changed that when it launched its home heliostat this winter. The start-up is selling small heliostats that homeowners can place in their yards to reflect high concentrations of solar light into their houses. The idea is to save turning on lights and to get the benefits of bright natural light without having to cut a hole in the roof of a home to install solar tubes, said Wikoda spokesman John Koger.

He has three of the heliostats at his own home.

“In our kitchen, we have eight or 10 overhead lights recessed into the ceiling,” he said. “During the day, it’s just dark enough that everyone who walked in there would turn on the lights.  

It seemed like such a waste of energy. Since installing the heliostats, he said his energy bill has gone down slightly.

On average, the Sunflower Heliostat provides $200 to $600 of lighting, Koger said.

But the way his home feels has improved dramatically

It can completely transform the mood of a room,” he said.

A standard 60-watt bulb provides 1,000 lumens of light, while a heliostat can reflect up to 50,000.

This is the first residential application of this technology that was developed for utility-scale solar energy production and it’s a new concept in the less technical circles, Koger said.

The principals in the company used to work with inkjets, Koger said. Inkjet technology started out very expensive and technical. Engineers like those behind Wikoda, developed more efficient and affordable motors and gears for inkjet printers and they have now done the same for heliostats.

A lot of our marketing is really about education,” he said. “Most people have never heard of a heliostat.

The company has been spreading the word about its product primarily through trade shows and educational events. It just released the Sunflower Heliostat on the world market after several months of growing sales in the United States.