More than 400,000 solar-powered patio umbrellas sold at Costco have been recalled by authorities after it was announced that the product can overheat and potentially burst into flames.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall for 400,000 units of the 10-ft SunVilla Solar LED Market Umbrella on Thursday, alongside Health Canada who issued their own release for 33,000 of the products. The item is sold in both countries at Costco.
The product is described on its website as providing protection shade during the day, while offering “beautiful ambiance” on your patio at nighttime when the 56 LED lights, charged by the sun’s rays, light up at night time.
Batteries used in the umbrella to create that sought after “ambiance” are what the agency believes to be causing trouble. They received six reports of the lithium-ion batteries overheating, with three of those reports resulting in “solar panels catching fire while charging via the AC adapter indoors” while two other incidents ended with the umbrella itself becoming ablaze when the solar panel puck overheated and caught fire while attached to the umbrella.
There has been on smoke inhalation injury reported, the agency noted in the Thursday recall.
The solar panel pucks have a mark that reads “YEEZE 1” or “YEEZE” and the affected umbrellas were sold in a variety of colours between December 2020 and May 2022.
Customers are instructed to “immediately stop using the umbrellas”, and to then remove the solar panel puck containing a lithium-ion battery from the top of the umbrella, store it in a safe place away from the sun and any combustible material and to no longer charge the puck with the AC adapter.
Full refunds are available to any customer who purchased one of the recalled umbrellas and can be returned to any Costco Warehouse across the country.
SunVilla asks that any customer who is unable to return the product in-person to a Costco location to call by phone at 866-600-3133 or contact the business by email at LEDrecall@sunvilla.com.
