5 Costco Solar Finds Worth Checking Out This Summer

With the warmer, brighter sunlight of the summer season, you can take advantage of a special opportunity: easier use of solar-powered gadgets and accessories. If you’re going to spend time in the sun, you might as well put that light to work for you, because there are all kinds of devices you can power with a solar panel. When it comes to ideas for cool new solar-powered finds, try browsing Costco, in person or online, for products like solar-powered lights, cameras, self-adjusting umbrellas, and even solar-powered water purifiers for the pool.

Whether for security, decoration, or just to make your back patio a little cozier, you can find a variety of solar panel-equipped gadgets at Costco, often in the retailer’s usual bulk purchase packages if you need multiples of a particular device. Some of these products are only available on the company’s website, while others can be found at your local Costco warehouse.

Any suitable patio or poolside needs at least one large umbrella for relaxing and filtering out the worst of the summer sun’s rays. Costco carries many simple garden umbrellas, but it also offers one with distinct differences from the rest: the Sunvilla Solar LED Market Umbrella, available for $179.99. This freestanding umbrella features a large 10-foot canopy treated to resist fading and water damage. The mount handle has an auto-tilt feature, which you can use to adjust the angle of the canopy and rotate it to account for the movement of the sun throughout the day.

Hidden at the top of the canopy is a small solar panel, passively absorbing the sunlight it blocks. This energy is sent to a removable battery – which can also be charged with the included AC adapter – which, in turn, powers the umbrella’s internal LED lights for illumination when the sun goes down. The default color of the canopy is black and white stripes, but depending on your local warehouse stock, it may be available in other colors including cream, blue, beige, gray and red.

Having a pool in your backyard provides plenty of opportunities for fun in the summer sun, but it’s also a big responsibility, requiring regular maintenance and cleaning, not to mention purchasing and implementing chlorine. The Remington Solar Sun Shock Pool Purifier claims to be able to do for your pool what would normally require a full stack of chlorine tablets, and it’s available on Costco’s online storefront for $89.99.

This little one floats on the surface of a swimming pool with a capacity of up to 22,000 gallons, attracts sunlight from its top-mounted solar panel, and uses that sunlight to purify the water. It works by sending a low-power current to an attached copper-silver rod, distributing the metal’s purifying ions into the water and preventing nasty things like algae from taking root. It does not entirely eliminate the need for chlorine in sanitation, but this Remington Solar device is advertised to reduce chlorine consumption by approximately 80%.

It’s fun to take advantage of the summer season to rethink your home’s exterior decor, especially if you have friends or family who come and go out more often. If you like to maintain a garden in your yard for example, you can add a little personality to it with themed lighting. At Costco, you can find the Infinity X1 Glass Mushroom Solar Landscape Lights, available in a two-pack for $64.99.

These cute little lights consist of a string of three units connected to a single solar panel, because solar lights always need a battery. The lights and solar unit have stakes at the bottom, so you can drive them into the ground and then arrange them however you like. The panel absorbs sunlight during the day and, when dusk falls, the lights turn on automatically, with each mushroom providing a soft five lumens of illumination. Assuming the panel receives a full day of light, the mushrooms can stay illuminated for up to 10 hours on a full charge.

Besides being decorative, solar lighting can also serve practical purposes, such as lighting your path at night. Automatic lights are a fairly common device in suburban homes, but if you prefer to have such a setup without wiring, you can find the Sol-R-Brite Fresh Source Solar Light at Costco for $49.99. This large lighting panel can be bolted to any solid surface or mounted on a pole.

During the day, the solar panel at the top stores electricity, and at night, the 120-degree motion sensor triggers the light to activate whenever someone passes by. This is useful for guiding you at night when you come home late, and it can also be beneficial as a safety measure. The light has three intensity settings of 1000, 2000 and 5000 lumens, allowing you to set your preferred brightness level. This Sol-R-Brite light fixture is also weatherproof, so even if you install it in the summer, you can leave it on all year round.

While you’re putting new decorations and gadgets outside for the summer season, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to also boost your home’s security. Solar power can be helpful here because it won’t disconnect in the event of a power outage. There are many popular outdoor security cameras on the market, but if you’re considering going the solar route, the TP-Link Tapo 2k Wireless Smart Security Camera is available exclusively online at Costco in a three-pack for $159.99.

These cameras are designed to be installed outdoors with no wiring required. The camera and its attached solar panel can be adjusted for optimal viewing angle and to capture the most sunlight. About 45 minutes of direct sunlight can fully charge the camera, and if the sun is obscured, a built-in battery keeps it working for up to 180 days.

The cameras can also sync with smart home setups like Amazon Alexa and Google Home, allowing you to call up images on connected devices like smartphones and smart TVs. All footage recorded by the cameras is stored locally on a microSD card, although cloud storage is also available for an additional fee.