The Rawlemon Spherical Solar Energy Generator
Originally published 16 April 2014. Technology claims reflect the sources available at the time of writing.
Created by Andre Broessel, a German architect inspired by his daughter’s toy marbles, the Rawlemon design uses a spherical lens to concentrate sunlight on a small photovoltaic panel and combines this with a dual-axis pivot that tracks the movement of the sun.
According to the designer the transparent sphere is able collect and concentrate diffuse where traditional devices cannot and as well as providing an efficiency boost, they can be used in far more locations than their flat, fixed counterparts. It's also claimed that by concentrating the sun’s light in one area, the Rawlemon design reduces the solar cell surface required to just 1 percent of that required by a traditional panel.
The largest device in the Rawlemon range is the 180-cm (70.1-in) Beta.ray 1.8 that will generate up to 3.4 kWh a day, enough to run your laptop for almost a week. It has a 5.4 kWh battery. Both the Beta.ray 1.0 and 1.8 feature water-filled acrylic-polymer lenses, as opposed to the solid lenses of their smaller siblings, plus they generate thermal energy as well as solar.
Rawlemon is also developing a system it calls Microtrack, that uses the same technology but is installed as a building skin. Microtrack will will produce energy during the day and can be used as a multimedia display at night.
For more information - Rawlemon.com
