Solar-powered Umbrella that Lights Up at Night

Solar powered umbrellas aren’t a new concept. In fact we discussed something similar on this web site a few months ago. However it’s one of those innovations that took longer to materialize than one expected. But now that it’s here and it’s real, people are starting to experiment with the idea and build on it.

Initially we only had an umbrella to which solar panels were attached so that it could generate electricity when exposed to the sun and then store it. But now we have a couple of improvements.

Umbrellas…

Aren’t just for protection from the sun. In order for the solar panels to be intact when it’s raining they have to be made water proof.

The improvement?

The use of waterproof thin film solar technology. Becky Barber is the designer behind this new and improved solar powered umbrella. The electricity generated is then stored in built-in batteries.

But that’s not all…

This solar powered umbrella is more unique than that. When you’re indoors and you unfold the umbrella the electricity stored in the batteries will instantly illuminate the umbrella so that you could even use it as your own portable light source. Check out the images. That’s pretty neat right?