DIY Lytefire
Build your own energy access, bake and cook with the sun. Special prices during our Ulule campaign (May 30st to July 6th)
Start your DIY journey with the Lytefire solar oven or cooker, whether for fun or for profit. Choose the package that fits your needs. Join our community of 342 DIYers and artisans. Access high‑quality construction guides and video tutorials, and get support along the way. Lytefire is powerful, and easy to build with simple tools and locally available materials.
Choose Your Package
From beginner to pro, we support you to build.
Everything you need to know to build:
Starter Package
Solar Cooker for frying, cooking, canning and sautéing.
What’s Included:
- ✅ COOKER construction Guide (35 pages)
- ✅ User Manual (30 pages)
- ✅ Video Tutorials
- ✅ Builders Forum & Community
Perfect for:
- ☀️ Cooks 10kg of rice in 1h05 minutes
- ☀️ Frying, sautéing & boiling
- ☀️ Starting out with DIY
- ☀️ Canning & preserving food
Builder Package
Put your DIY skills to use and build both the cooker and the oven for a maximum of independence
Includes the Starter Package, plus:
- ✅ OVEN Construction Guide (132 pages)
- ✅ 1 Hour Technical Assistance
- ✅ Solar Baking Recipes Booklet
Perfect for:
- 🍞 Bake 30-45 kg of bread daily
- 🍕 Pizzas, biscuits, buns, pies, cakes & quiches
- ☀️ Cooks 10kg of rice in 1h05 minutes
- ☀️ Frying, sautéing & boiling
- ☀️ Canning & preserving food
Pre-order the Full Package
Prepare for the future with the full package:
Will include:
- ✅ Everything in the Builder Package
- ✅ Interview series with solar entrepreneurs
- ✅ And more
Launching soon via crowdfunding. Subscribe to our newsletter to be notified!
Pre-Order on Ulule! →
Let’s hear
From those who built it themselves
"I think I choose Lytefire because it’s the simplest way I found to try what I was thinking about. I already knew that I needed some concentrated solar power for my brewery. And Lytefire was from what I found, that was existing already, it was the simplest. And the design I built and experimented with, was the quickest."
"Your design is easy to understand and straight-forward to build. We achieved the advertised temperatures in the first try with none of the complications experienced by other students that used a different solar concentrator design."
"We made popcorn as a snack this morning, (look how hot the cooker got at 9am). Then this afternoon the students used it to make a stir-fry using ingredients from the garden (collard greens, garlic, onions, eggplants, and herbs)."
"Since the beginning of February, the Fourmi team at our low‑tech conserverie has been hard at work DIY‑building its solar concentrator.
But why bother building our own production tool?
DIY is an essential way to reclaim our production tools.
By knowing every bolt, every weld, every material used, we’ll be able to maintain and repair it ourselves, reducing our dependence on external suppliers and technicians.
It’s one of our key pillars for creating a more sustainable and resilient artisanal food‑preservation model.
Would you believe me if I told you that we had never welded or even cut steel before?
Do‑It‑Yourself isn’t just for seasoned makers!
All you need is a good dose of motivation, a strong desire to learn, and ABOVE ALL, the right people around you!
This project would not have been possible without:
– Comme Un Établi: this unique shared workshop where professionals and beginners in metalwork can collaborat
– Émeline Delvoye from Atelier Ouka, the metalworker who agreed to accompany us in this crazy challenge
– The plans for the collective solar cooker and the Lytefire community, who made it possible and accessible to build this beautiful tool
A huge THANK YOU to all of you for making this project a reality!”
Every DIYer has access to the Lytefire Hub, our community of 342 members helping each other
Lytefire DIY Cooker
Installed in a Swiss garden.
Build a Lytefire DIY Community Solar Cooker
65 pages guide you step by step. Availabe in English and in French
If you want to cook for your friends and family, these construction plans are for you!
This guide:
- 1 Construction Plans with the detailed step-by-step instructions (35 pages)
- 1 User Manual, with the instructions on assembly, focusing and using, site selection and safety (30 pages)
- Video Tutorial: Installing the Mirrors (in English, with French subtitles)
- Video Tutorial: Building the Upward Reflector (in English, with French subtitles)
- Your access to Lytefire Hub with a dedicated builders forum where you can post, learn and get tips
Check out how Lytefire Community Cooker works well in Finland even in November!
What can you do with Lytefire Cooker?
- Make pancakes, bacon and hash browns for 20 people
- Solar cooking for 20 people, like fry 25 eggs in 5 minutes
- 12 kg of rice and 5 kg of lentils very nicely cooked in 1 hour 5 minutes (50 liter pots)
- Boil 8 liters of water takes 30 minutes
- Cook crêpes, jams, jellies and marmalade
- Make big quantities of tomatoes sauce after harvest season
- Cook a big stir fry or an nice pan pizza
- Pan roast delicious nuts like almonds, hazelnuts or cashews for your granola
- Roast raw coffee beans
- And the food tastes the same!
More questions? Check the FAQ
Lytefire DIY built is recommended only for private uses. This Lytefire is not a mobile unit.
Technical Specifications:
- Uses only direct concentrated sun ray, no fuel costs
- Produces 2000 Watts of thermal energy
- Reaches up to 300°C / 572°F
- No automated tracking: you need to slightly turn the Lytefire every 10 mins to follow the sun
- Width: 2m, length: 3m, height: 2m
- The combined surface of all mirrors is 4 square meters
- Requires a sunny flat space of at least 4.5 m of diameter in which to operate with no shade
- Easy to clean: only water and soap to clean the mirrors
- If properly built and painted, the Lytefire will last about 16 years
- The materials are plain steel, bolts, mirrors and can be found almost everywhere. The price can vary from one retailer to the other so take your time to compare.
- With optimal conditions, it takes 3-4 days to build your Lytefire . Otherwise, count 1-2 weeks.
Cooking:
- Cooking happens exactly as on any stove and you watch the pot :)
- Food taste the same with solar cooking
- Dark pots are recommended. No fat is leaking down to the reflector.
- On the side of the Cooker, a lever allows you to change the inclination of all the mirrors at once to increase or decrease the heat.
Lytefire DIY Oven
The first construction plans allow you to build the solar concentrator...
...and the second part of the construction plans are for building the Oven.
Build a powerful Solar Oven
132 pages guide you step by step. Available in English or in French.
Build your own, powerful solar oven for baking. This construction plan summarizes more than a decade of our field experience to reach the best performances and design! Check all the users and see all the great things you can do with your Lytefire here.
This guide:
- 1 Solar Concentrator Construction Plan: step-by-step instructions (70 pages)
- 1 Solar Oven Construction Plan: step-by-step instructions + detailed parts fabrication (42 pages)
- 1 Users Manual with instructions for use, security and site selection (30 pages)
- 1 Tutorial Video: Installation and Setup of your Lytefire
- 1 Tutorial Video: Mirrors calibration for efficient use
- 1 Technical Booklet: Use and maintenance
- 1 Safety Notice to pin next to your Lytefire
- Technical assistance during your building from one of our trainers. We support you, at your own pace, on the phone (chat or call). We’re here to make your project a full success. (See Support section below)
- Your access to Lytefire Hub with a dedicated builders forum where you can share and get tips
- 1 Lytefire’s solar baking Recipes Booklet
Video: How does solar baking with Lytefire work?
Calculate here how much money you will save by using the solar oven.
Take from inspiration from others artisans and entrepreneurs who are making money with Lytefire. Go to users page →
What can you do with Lytefire Oven?
- 30-45kg of fresh bread every day depending on the bread recipe
- Up to 250 cookies per day
- Pizzas, pies, cakes, quiches
- Brioches, croissants, all kind of delicious "viennoiseries"
- Can be used as a regular cooking oven
- And the food tastes the same!
More questions? Check the FAQ
Lytefire DIY built is recommended only for private or semi-professional uses. This Lytefire is not a mobile unit.
Baking:
- Depending on where you install your oven, you’ll need about an hour to heat it up.
- Next to the mirrors, a lever allows you to change the inclination of all the mirrors at once to increase or decrease the heat.
- The heat is distributed inside the oven and you can regulate it by turning the mirrors.
- For the bread, the surdough recipes give the best results. Lytefire is best for surdough bread, biscuits, buns, cakes, pizzas, quiches, small baguettes. It can be too dry for brioches, viennoiseries and other breads.
- Solar baking doesn’t change the food’s taste.
Technical Specifications:
- Uses only direct concentrated sun rays, no fuel costs
- Produces 3500 Watts of thermal energy
- Reaches up to 300°C / 572°F (the oven is hot at 240°C after 45min-1 hour)
- Even heat distribution for high quality baking
- Immune to blackouts
- No automated tracking: you need to slightly turn the Lytefire every 10 mins to follow the sun
- The combined surface of all mirrors is 5 square meters
- Requires a sunny flat space of at least 7 meters of diameter in which to operate with no shade
- Easy to clean: only water and soap to clean the mirrors. Clean the oven as normal.
- If properly built and painted, the Lytefire will last about 16 years
- The materials are regular steel, bolts, and mirrors, and they can be found almost everywhere. The price can vary from one retailer to the other so take your time to compare.
- With good conditions, it takes up to 10 days to build your Lytefire and its oven.
Support
We’re here to help along the way!
Building a solar cooker or oven, especially if you haven’t built with metal before, can be a real adventure. Having experienced this ourselves, we’re here to help you if you get stuck on a step, have a question about materials, or just want to share your progress! Our team is reachable on multiple channels and our community is a great place to share your progress with others.
Phone
Call us directly and talk to someone form our team who has built Lytefire first-hand.
Send us a message, a photo or video with your issue or questions, and we’re happy to answer anytime.
We love getting email, answering questions and some answers we’ll repost on the hub when they can help others.
Lytefire Hub
Post your questions or progress updates on the builders forum and get feedback and inspiration from our DIY community!
Join the Community of 342 DIYers, Users, Builders, Educators and Entrepreneurs
After your purchase you get access to the Lytefire Hub, where you can download your construction plans, how-to-videos, and access a forum where you can ask questions and get answers quickly. It is a safe community where you can share updates and learn from other users. Join us and share your journey, challenges and transformation with all!
This map is private to the community, so you decide if you want to be on it or not. It allows you to check if someone near you shares the same Lytefire passion. We show here some of the users of the Hub!
Good to know
Weather:
- You need a clear blue sky for the Lytefire to work. It can be a fresh spring day, a hot summer morning or a sunny winter afternoon.
- The mirrors array should be dismantled and/or stored indoors in case of heavy storm / hail storm. For more about the weather, see FAQ.
Safety:
- As for any stove or fire, you do not leave the device unattended.
- When you are done building, we recommend you perform the burning stick test for your family so everybody can see the actual power of your solar concentrator.
- Wearing sunglasses while cooking is recommended.
- After usage, always turn down all mirrors to completely turn off the concentration.
FAQ:
We have a comprehesive Frequently Asked Question section, where we have compiled all the answers to questions we have recieved over the years. Questions? Check the FAQ
** Disclaimer
Lytefire is powerful. The use of our construction plans and the solar cooking is at your own risk. Please follow carefully the safety instructions that are listed on our Terms. Thank you.
DIY related Posts
On DIY building in wood
I was a small kid when I built my first DIY project. Back then, our winters still had real snow.
Every year.
Back then, I already knew how to ski, but we didn’t own skis.
So I decided to make them myself. I was like 8 years old.
Skis are normally made out of "composite materials", a fancy way of saying: impossible to recycle and impossible to build yourself. But I had seen, in a rustic restaurant, hanging on a wall, a pair of skis, made in all wood…
I was a lucky kid. I grew up on an organic farm, with a big workshop, all sorts of tools and parents who encouraged making things. I loved working with wood. It’s intuitive, beautiful, and really a friendly substance.
I think that was the start of my love for working with wood.
And it’s fast: I was done with my skis the next day, and got to test them in the same snow that inspired the action! Awesome.
I think building in wood could also be a good idea for Lytefire. Making it easier to build, simpler to start.
Last year I visited the university of Sofia Antipolis in the south of France. It was a program from Ecole des Mines. I was called there to be a solar instructor, and support the students, some of whom had 0 building experience... I instructed them to build simple mirror holders with wood. The students succeeded right away and we needed nothing but hand-tools. Bamboo has also been tried by Lytefire’s team members a while ago.
And even before this, in 2020, I instructed a group of students at the Bern University of Applied Sciences and their wood‑engineering department. 24 students explored ways to build Lytefire structures in wood. This was the height of COVID, now six years ago already! Everything was happening online, and there was no time to build. I was left with at least 6 different approaches to build Lytefire with wood… On top of my own ideas of how it could be done…
The lockdown started. At that time, I lived in Heuberge, a rustic Swiss mountain hotel. Surrounded by melting snow, and lots of sun. I proposed to the hotel to build a Lytefire oven… A way to attract more clients in the summer, to offer pizza, baked with the sun… With the global warming welcoming structure need new ideas.
I started building… And this time in wood.
And that brings me to the point:
We’re considering adding a wood‑based construction option to the Lytefire guides. It could make building easier, reduce the need for metal works, and open the door for more people to start.
If you have thoughts about wood‑building or feedback on our DIY guide, let’s talk about it! I think wood could open the way for more people to build their own solar access.