You've probably heard about the sustainability benefits of electrifying your building and your transportation, but what about your grounds management? Electric grounds tools have been around for decades, but plugging them in and handling long cords was impractical for grounds maintenance staff. Today's battery-powered grounds equipment provides the power and flexibility of gas-fueled equipment with the environmental and operational benefits of electricity.

The benefits of electric grounds equipment

A variety of battery-power equipment is available — mowers, trimmers, blowers, chainsaws, hedge trimmers — to cover all of your grounds maintenance needs. They offer significant advantages over their gas-fueled counterparts.

• Emissions free. Electric grounds equipment operates cleanly. No more smelly emissions that can also be harmful to equipment operators.
• Quieter operation. Electric tools run more quietly than gas-fueled models. This causes less disruption for your business operations and it's easier on the ears of your grounds maintenance staff. It may even add scheduling flexibility, depending on local regulations regarding start times and noise levels.
• Easy to start. Electric equipment starts at the push of a button. No more wasting time filling up the tank and pulling cords.
• Less maintenance. Electric tools have fewer moving parts than gas equipment. That means less spent on time-consuming and often costly maintenance.
• Safer to operate. Motor-driven electric tools are lighter and vibrate less than gas equipment fueled by combustion engines, improving the ease and safety of operation.

Making the switch

Gas-fueled grounds equipment has been widely used for decades. Making the change to electric equipment is not without its challenges. Here are some hurdles you may face and how to overcome them.

An initial hurdle is financial. Replacing all of your gas-fueled grounds equipment with electric models can be expensive. One way to get around this is by replacing grounds equipment gradually. Start with mowers and then move on to trimmers, blowers and so on.

Infrastructure is another issue. Most facilities are set up with a gas infrastructure where grounds equipment is fueled from a central tank. When making the switch to electric equipment, you'll need to implement a new infrastructure to store and charge multiple batteries. This would lead to additional costs as well. A strategy of gradual replacement will help with this as well.

There could be institutional barriers as well. If your grounds maintenance staff is accustomed to gas-fueled equipment, reorienting to electric-powered tools can be challenging. Develop a strategy on how to properly operate the new equipment and storage, handle batteries and fully train your staff on these new practices. Change can be difficult, but once your staff becomes fully aware of the benefits of operating electric equipment, they should get on board quickly.

Electrifying your grounds management can be good for your business, too. What better way to show off your organization's commitment to sustainability than to maintain your grounds using quiet, safe and environmentally friendly electric equipment?