Motivations For Making The Shift...Or Just Considering It
Lawn & Landscape hosted an informative webinar this month that sought to address some of the most important issues that lawn and landscaping professionals face when contemplating or being forced to contemplate the switch from gas to cordless technology.
Seamless Shift: Ensuring Business Continuity When Switching From Gas to Cordless Technology was the title of the webinar hosted by Lawn & Landscape Associate Editor Jimmy Miller together with Nick Feld and Conrad Tufte, product managers with EGO Commercial, one of the world’s largest tool manufacturers producing over 10 million units each year.
EGO Commercial makes a line of battery powered lawn and landscaping tools powered by lithium ion batteries ranging in amp hours from 2.5 Ah to 12.0 Ah.
Balancing Efficiency With Changing Laws & Customer Demands
Before taking a deeper dive into the technology options and key questions for consideration, the hosts wanted to get a feel for the room and better understand the motivations for those attending the webinar when clearly the majority of lawn care professionals are not contemplating abandoning gas-powered technology…unless the are forced to.
And that is essentially what the instant online poll revealed…
While one-third of lawn care professionals attending the webinar said “I think cordless technology could make my business more efficient,” the other two-thirds replied that either changing laws or customer demands were forcing them to think about making the switch.
66% of the lawn care pros in attendance said “Laws and ordinances are forcing me to switch” or “I have clients that are asking for cordless or quieter technology.”
In response to the group that responded “Laws and ordinances are forcing me to switch,” the hosts acknowledged that some businesses are 100% committed to gas and, at the other end of the spectrum, there are companies that have committed to the switch to cordless in states like California with statewide regulations and certain neighborhoods in states like Florida with noise ordinances.
In response to the group that said, “I have clients that are asking for cordless or quieter technology,” the hosts said that’s a trend that started during the pandemic and has only accelerated as more companies abandon overpriced commercial office space in favor of letting employees work from home…and increasingly complain about gas-powered equipment disturbing their home office productivity.
The Most Common Concerns Lawn Pros Have About Switching
Next, the webinar addressed the most common questions that companies like EGO Commercial hear from lawn care pros who might be contemplating making the switch from gas to cordless technology including:
- Do I need to upgrade the electrical service in my buildings? It depends. If you choose your equipment wisely, you might be able to recharge equipment for multiple crews off a single standard outlet. EGO makes a commercial charging station that can charge up to 70 batteries overnight from a standard 110V 15A/20A outlet. As for ZTRs, that’s a different story. At a minimum, a cordless, commercial ZTR is going to require a dedicated 220V, 20A circuit, and the hosts recommend a 220V, NEMA 14-50 compatible outlet.
- Do I need to upgrade or change my vehicles and trailers? Once again, it depends. And this time there are three factors to take into consideration: local weather, charging location and security concerns. The hosts say the ideal solution is to have an enclosed trailer, van or box truck equipped with an onboard charging system you can plug in overnight and have the batteries fully charged for your crews ready to roll the next morning.
- How do I make sure my crews don’t run out of power during the day? The hosts said this is the most common question or concern they hear from lawn and landscape pros weighing the pros and cons of cordless technology. In response, EGO and other manufacturers now have calculators on their websites and apps that allow business owners to calculate their daily power needs based on the size of their crews, the equipment they need, and the number or hours they work daily.
- As far as energy consumption, cordless outdoor power equipment (OPE) ranges anywhere from 1 KW per hour for edgers and trimmers to 2KW per hour for backpack blowers and walk-behind mowers to 6-10 KW per hour for ZTRs which are the most power-hungry piece of cordless equipment in a lawn care professionals arsenal.
- How do I service and maintain cordless lawn care products? Just like gas powered equipment, cordless OPE tools still need to be cleaned, lubricated and have their blades and chains sharpened at regular intervals. For the electronics and drive systems, the hosts encourage business owners to lean heavily on your manufacturer for training. As far as reliability of cordless OPE, they say the most common failure areas on cordless tools are the circuit boards, switches, and damaged or frayed wiring.
Conclusion
In conclusion, how “seamless” the shift will be from gas to cordless depends on a number of factors that lawn care pros will need to take into careful consideration.
The decision to switch will either be made independently based on factors like greater efficiency or seeking a competitive advantage or made out of necessity in order to comply with changing laws at the state and local level.
To the extent possible, manufacturers like EGO appear to be taking steps to try and make the switch more seamless or less painful than it is today.
And the greatest source of pain for most lawn and landscape pros who make the switch, voluntary or involuntarily, is still going to be the upfront cost of acquiring all of the equipment, batteries and chargers that will be needed to become 100% cordless. In fact, the hosts estimate that 50-70% of the cost of conversion will be in batteries and chargers alone.
For more information and guidance about making the switch from gas to cordless OPE, watch the full webinar at Lawn & Landscape.
Contact CII Today
If you own an established lawn care, landscaping or tree service business in Florida or Georgia and would like to get a better understanding of the current market value of your company and important steps you can take today to maximize that value, get in touch with a CII business advisor today.