Green Lawn Care
Excellent article on battery powered commercial lawn care.
Talk and demo by eco-electric lawn care company.
Quiet Lawn business discussion.
Commercial battery powered mower evaluation.
US Department of Energy Article about green lawn equipment.
Burlington Vermont incentive program offers up to $100 for homeowners and $3500 for commercial operators who purchase electric lawn mowers. It has become their most popular rebate program, and other cities are starting to follow suit.
Illinois study: Gasoline-powered lawn mowers and garden equipment are emitting 30 million tons of pollutants yearly in the USA, accounting for a quarter of all non-road gasoline emissions.
The following offers an assessment of the environmental implication and cost of electrifying the lawn mower industry.
The lifecycle environmental footprint and total cost of ownership of electric-powered mowers, compared to those of conventional gasoline-powered counterparts, results in a 49.9% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, the total cost of ownership is slightly higher (4.7%) for the electric solution, even if the operating costs are lower. The initial buying price of the electric solution is more expensive than the gasoline solution of the same category.
Government needs to offer a suitable financial incentive to support the electrifcation of the lawn mower market, and is of utmost importance.
Increased market share of electric mowers can contribute to cutting down greenhouse gas emissions. Decision-makers in businesses and state/local governments need to take appropriate ecological actions, e.g., in the development of adequate fnancial incentives or green policy to support the energy transition in this sector, and thus tackle global warming.
Are we going to get out of the predicament caused by global warming unscathed? I doubt it. We may have to pay a little more for lawn maintenance, to offset the economics of highly polluting small gas engine lawn equipment. At present, battery equipment is more expensive to purchase. At present even the lower operatig costs of battery power equipment may not totally offset the initial cost of battery equipment. However, that equation will soon change as production of battery equipment increases. If one factors in the real environmental damage caused by small gas engines, battery lawn equipment may be very cost effective, compared to gas equipment.
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