How To Choose the Right Battery-Powered Lawn Equipment

There are many benefits to operating battery-powered lawn equipment:

• Less noise
• Lighter weight
• No emissions
• No mixing of gas and oil
• No cords
• Instant starting
• Lower operating costs
• Appeal to enviro-savvy clients, LEED-certified buildings, etc.

When considering the purchase of a battery-powered piece of lawn equipment, professionals should take note of the following:

• Power – But keep in mind that voltage is only one part of the equation when evaluating battery performance. The amount of “Watt Hours” determines power output over a given amount of time, and that is determined by taking the number of volts and multiplying it by the number of amp hours.
• Typical run time
• Typical charge time
• Typical lifespan, number of charges battery can withstand
• Power drop-off (at what point during operation will you start to experience a loss of power and performance?)
• Performance characteristics of the tool itself (i.e. cut swath on string trimmers, blade length and strokes-per-minute on hedgetrimmers, mph and cfm on blowers)