“At the moment, most of our fleet is gas, about 30 per cent is either electric or battery,” says Johnson. “I unfortunately feel a lot of my electric equipment lacks an easy fix for when things do go south. It has disrupted entire work days at the company.” In the past, electric fleets were unable to match the power of their gas-powered counterparts, such as the higher RPM of gas trimmers or the CFM of gas leaf blowers. Yet, similar to battery-powered equipment, electric tools have seen significant advancements and investment, greatly improving their reliability and performance. And, despite being generally harder to fix, Johnson says the overall reliability is still superior over gas equipment. “It is absolutely more reliable than gas, in my experience,” says Johnson. “The electric portion of my fleet is practically silent and avoids most of the hassles involved with gas. It has a lot of the same advantages that my battery equipment does.” Electric landscaping equipment is continuing to gain momentum as technological advancements continue to improve year after year. This growth is likely to sustain, especially with strong support from governments worldwide, many of which are striving to reduce emissions and endorse greener alternatives. REGULATORY PRESSURES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS Discussions around landscape equipment have shifted beyond personal preference in recent years, as various governments have implemented bans on gas-powered tools, accelerating the already hasty shift away from gas equipment in Canada. Vancouver, London and Oakville are all among Canadian cities that have considered a gas-powered landscaping equipment ban, with environmental and residential concerns at the forefront of these discussions. Vancouver is currently working towards a ban on personal and residential gas-powered landscaping equipment to help reach the nation’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. City officials say they plan to discuss the possibility of a phase-out with staff this year. Metro Vancouver’s division manager of air quality bylaw and regulation development cited the equipment can ‘definitely have impacts’ on the health of the workers and
A quick Google search will yield petitions from multiple Canadian cities calling for the phasing out of gas leaf blowers. (Google)
people around the equipment as well. For context, a typical 3.5 hp gas mower can emit the same amount of greenhouse gases in an hour as a new car driven 550 km, which is approximately the distance from Toronto to Montréal. Electric or battery mowers, which are much quieter and becoming as cheap as gas alternatives, do not have the same problem. Dave Stewart recently spoke in favour of battery equipment in a panel discussion held at Landscape Ontario, a provincial Japanese manufacturer of power tools with operations in Canada. He mentions how the company has placed enough faith in current industry and environmental trends that it has gone fully cordless. “Makita were always known for the four-stroke gas engine,” says Stewart. “We decided to stop making those, to some consumer outcry, and we just went straight cordless. We had already been making battery tools for over 50 years by the time we made that decision, so we had a head start.” Another major motivation for trade association headquartered in Milton, Ont. Stewart is the business development manager at Makita, a
municipalities to enforce these regulations is noise pollution. Gas- powered leaf blowers, for instance, are much louder than alternatives, reaching noise levels of up to 105 db (comparable to a table saw) as opposed to 65 db for battery models. Neighbourhood residents consider the early-morning racket caused by these machines as intrusive to their peace, but as noted by Gabrielle McCullough-Murray, the technology for battery and electric alternatives is still lacking on large-scale jobs. Canadians pushing for restrictions on gas- powered equipment could hope to mimic California's 2024 statewide ban on the sale of gas-powered lawn and garden tools. The ban encompassed small-engine equipment like leaf blowers and lawn mowers, while offering $30 million USD in state rebates to homeowners and landscapers. With a population and economy comparable to California, Canada could look to California’s approach as a model for advancing its own net-zero goals. In the meantime, the ongoing shift toward alternative equipment may signal the beginning of a greener and quieter future for the landscaping industry. LT
20 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
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