Could photovoltaic panels quickly become a thing of the past, with strange-looking spherical solar energy gatherers taking their place? It seems possible with the introduction of this device from Rawlemon, which gathers four times more power than conventional solar panels. The Betaray was developed as a stand-alone power charger station, using a ball lens and geometric structure to improve energy efficiency by 35%.
The ball lens, which gathers and concentrates the sun’s rays onto a very small series of photovoltaic panels, is mounted on a white stand and has a dual axis tracking system so it can be incorporated into any building surface. The optical tracking device is fully rotational and weatherproof so it can be mounted on inclined surfaces and curtain walls. It can even concentrate diffused daylight or moonlight, and produces four times more energy than conventional photovoltaic panels alone, even on cloudy days.
The modular collector system charges and stores energy day and night, and the silicon is limited to just 25%. Since silicon is a major component of most solar panels, when its availability is limited, prices for PV systems tend to jump.
And beyond its efficiency, the Betaray just looks cool. The image of it concentrating light from a flashlight at night calls to mind the bat symbol projector. Mounted on a roof or wall, it looks sculptural, and takes up a lot less space than an array of panels.

