If you’re not quite ready to take the plunge into decking your home in solar panels, here’s a new, more cost-effective way to take advantage of the sun’s energy using electronically guided glass mirrors.
The Sunflower Home Heliostat from Wikoda is 95% efficient at reflecting heat and light, and at only 18 pounds, is compact enough to use in your home or garden where a little extra light could come in handy. It finds where the sun is and electronically tracks it, giving users the freedom to bring in light where it’s needed the most.
The Sunflower is made of six triangle-shaped glass mirrors around four microprocessor-controlled phototransistors, resembling the shape of a flower. Each phototransistor tracks the movement of the sun as it moves across the sky, and when it hits the mirrors, the light and heat are reflected and sent to any spot you’ve designated within 25 feet. Solar-powered motors adjust the mirrors to follow the sun and reflect the maximum amount of sunlight all day, generating up to 500 watts of power.
There is a bit of a drawback, especially if you’re fair-skinned. Since the Sunflower is reflecting close to the full spectrum of sunlight, UV rays and all, you’ll probably want to put on some sunscreen before taking it all in. That’s definitely one thing I’d end up learning the hard way with this device.
At $399 it’s definitely cheaper than solar panels, but do you think it’s a worthy investment or is it more hassle than you’re willing to take on to get the extra natural light in a dark room?
Images, video: Wikoda
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