Sustain Coastal, the initiative for making Coastal Carolina University an environmentally sustainable campus, purchased two new patio umbrellas to encourage students and faculty/staff to charge their electronic devices with clean, renewable energy.

"We know that it is important for students, faculty and staff members to have their devices fully powered," said Jeremy Monday, director of Sustain Coastal. "We want to encourage them to do this with clean and renewable energy."

Three weatherproofed USB ports are located in the base of each umbrella, which are powered by solar panels on the very top. Each Powersol umbrella can charge up to three mobile devices simultaneously. Sensors located in the charging ports know when mobile devices are fully charged to keep any energy from being wasted. An LED display indicates how much solar energy is currently stored for charging.

ZON Technology makes the Powersol umbrella solar charging stations. The company strives to create environmentally friendly products that reduce the carbon footprint on the environment and maintains that 15 percent of the energy used on the planet is from electronic devices like smart phones, tablets and computers, and that number will double by 2020.

For more information on the umbrellas or campus sustainability, contact Jeremy Monday, sustainability coordinator, at 843-349-6954 or jmonday1@coastal.edu.