Solar patio umbrellas sold at Costco recalled after multiple fires
By Zoe Sottile, CNN
Solar-powered patio umbrellas sold exclusively at Costco have been recalled in the United States and Canada after some umbrellas caught fire, authorities said.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in a news release urged customers to “immediately stop using” the SunVilla 10 foot Solar LED Market Umbrella.
The umbrellas were produced by California-based SunVilla Corp., the news release says. They feature LED lights on the inside arms and a solar panel with a black cover at the top of the umbrella.
“The lithium-ion batteries in the umbrella’s solar panels can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards,” the CPSC said.
The umbrellas were sold at Costco warehouses and online for between $130 and $160 from December 2020 through May 2022, the CPSC said.
In the United States there were “three reports of solar panels catching fire while charging via the AC adapter indoors and two reports of umbrellas catching fire when the solar panel puck overheated and caught fire while attached to the umbrella and one smoke inhalation injury,” the CPSC said.
SunVilla has received one report of a battery overheating and the umbrella catching fire in Canada, with no injury, according to a news release published on Thursday by Health Canada.
Around 400,000 of the umbrellas were sold in the United States and around 33,000 in Canada, says the CPSC. The umbrellas were recalled jointly by the CPSC, Health Canada, SunVilla and Costco.
Customers should stop using the umbrellas and remove the solar panel puck (the piece that contains the lithium-ion battery), store it out of the sun and away from combustible material, and not charge the puck with its AC adapter, the CPSC says. The umbrellas can be returned to any Costco Warehouse for a full refund.
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