An Armenian inventor says his invention could cut energy consumption used in farming 40-60 percent.

According to inventor Vahan Hamazaspyan, helioification – consumption of solar energy – is a necessity for a country like Armenia, which has limited energy resources.

Doctor of Technical Sciences Hamazaspyan and his colleagues and students have been working on the device called ‘Combined HelioSystem’ for 15 years, improving it year by year. HelioSystems are designed for domestic consumption, and mainly for food processing, especially in farming, because they work in the open air. The devices are mirrors, combined with a parabola system, which can accumulate the solar energy in one point. The thermal capacity of the devices, depending on the area, ranges from 3.3 kilowatts to 3.7 kilowatts.

“We have the experience of sunrays consumption. The best proof is the dishes which were prepared using the sunrays,” Hamazaspyan said on October 26, at a presentation of the program.

Hamazaspyan says that it is possible not only to prepare food and reprocess agricultural products, but also to get warm water and thermal energy through HelioSystems. He also says the HelioSystems are convenient to use in ‘sun cafes’ of coastal countries for preparing ecologically clean food. And as for the HelioSystems with even greater capacity (up to 250 kilowatts), they may be used in small and medium-sized businesses.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Armenia, Armenia has a significant solar energy potential.

Nevertheless, Armenia does not have great experience of restored energy consumption. There are cooling and ventilation solar systems at American University of Armenia, which secures continuous work of the whole system. Solar water heaters have been installed on the roofs of buildings in some settlements, such as kindergartens, and medical centers. Wind power is also used in Armenia to some extent. The first wind power plant in Armenia and in Caucasus with total capacity of 2.6 MW was put in operation at Pushkin pass, Lori province, in December 2005. However, the great part of Armenia’s wind power remains unused yet.

Hamazaspyan is currently trying to obtain a territory for the serial production of the HelioSystems.