Welcome to our Blog. Inspiration, updates and industry trends from the team at Landscaping Solutions.
With springtime well and truly upon us, many Brits are already enjoying our gardens and open spaces. Maintaining lawns, hedges and borders can be a therapeutic pastime to some and an unwelcome chore to others, but having the right tool can make the difference.
For domestic and professional gardeners, the solution for large-scale garden maintenance has typically been to invest in garden machinery. The powerful petrol engines on these machines would enable the user to get much more work done than manual cutting tools, but they do have their disadvantages. Factors that some users find troublesome include levels of noise and emissions, plus the cost of fuel.
Recent developments in battery technology have reached a point where battery powered garden tools are comparable in performance and price to their fuelled counterparts. Chainsaws, trimmers and blowers powered by battery are quieter and cleaner than petrol models.
Early battery-powered garden gadgets would be let down by long charging times and short operating times. For professional users this would mean too much downtime leading to a loss of earnings unless they invested in spare batteries and chargers. The power delivered by these batteries would also be significantly less than a traditional engine, so it just wouldn’t be worth using for most applications.
In contrast, today’s lithium-ion technology delivers power and efficiency with quick charging and long life. With less moving parts than motor-driven machines, a battery-powered device also offers lower levels of vibration. This further enhances user comfort.
Another battery-powered innovation in recent years has been the robotic lawn mower. Far from being a showy gimmick, these highly efficient machines cut to a very high quality and virtually eliminate the need for man power. Husqvarna’s Automower range can cover lawns of all sizes, and once the machine has been set up, it can operate autonomously and return itself to base for charging.
The City of Edinburgh Council recently trialled Automowers in a cemetery, a school and public park, and noted the remarkable standards of quality and efficiency. With such a small storage footprint and low operating costs, the robotic mowers ticked all the boxes. Rather than rendering members of staff redundant it enabled them to focus on other areas of maintenance, thus improving productivity and saving the council time and money.
Robotic mowers are increasingly being perceived as viable alternatives to riders and pedestrian mowers because of their versatility, efficiency and connectivity. Mapping out the area of operation is done by installing the boundary and guide wires, and some Husqvarna models also have GPS connectivity via their Automower Connect app.
The latest development for Husqvarna Automowers is integration with Amazon Alexa. From September, the 315X, 430X and 450X models of Automower will be able to be controlled using a command in Alexa, giving you even more control over your mowing.
So the landscape of battery powered garden gadgets has moved quickly in recent years, and it might mean the end for fuel-driven machines. Whilst vehicles and construction equipment are still relying on petrol and diesel to be able to compete on value and performance, the market for battery powered garden tools is already taking shape.