How to Unfuck the Planet: Electric Lawnmowers
Pros, Cons, and how you can help the planet for 21 dollars
One classic way to reduce your carbon footprint is to buy an electric car. But, considering the price of electric cars and that the average American only buys a new car every 6 years (as of 2019), an immediate switch to electric isn’t really feasible. Don’t get me wrong, you should not buy a new gas car. But, you can still play your part in the meantime. According to the EPA, gas lawnmower emissions account for 5% of American emissions. Thus, switching to an electric lawnmower is a fairly easy way to reduce your impact on the environment. To illustrate this point, I’ll be comparing this ROYOBI 40V battery lawnmower to this Toro gas lawnmower.
The Price
First things first, the price. The gas lawnmower costs $378 ($299.53 US). The electric lawnmower was on sale at the time of writing but has a full price of $399 ($316.17 US). While this electric option is $21 more ($16.64 US) upfront, electric lawnmowers are less expensive to run. According to my math, under the best circumstances, the gas mower costs almost 12 times as much to run. Unfortunately, we’re talking about cents or fractions of a cent per mow, so it would take you 5 years to make back the 21 dollars. The thing is, this isn’t about the money. When you look for things you can do to fight climate change, you see big things like giving up meat or buying electric cars. I’m telling you that, while that stuff is necessary and important, you can do something with a real effect on our emissions (5% of American emissions is 288.45 million metric tons!) for 21 dollars. If you truly care about our planet, cost cannot be your justification for not buying an electric lawnmower (I’m saying this if you’re choosing between these two lawnmowers, not that there aren’t less expensive lawnmowers).
The Pros For Electric
- Slightly higher rating (4.3 stars vs 4.2 stars)
- More highly recommended (84% vs 75%)
- Pretty much equal range (gas is 1/4–1/2 acre, electric says up to 1/2 acre per charge)
- It’s lighter and quieter than most gas mowers
- Better for the environment
The Cons
- Certain mowers seem to have defects, though the company seems happy to help
- The battery takes 4 hours to charge, so if your lawn is bigger than 1/2 acre you’ll need to buy an extra battery to which costs $179 ($141.51 US)
- If you live in a place with cold winters, you may want to store your batteries inside to maximize their lifespan
It is clear that, despite several drawbacks, this specific lawnmower is on par with or better than a gas lawnmower and is a viable alternative for a climate-conscious consumer. But is this product just an outlier amongst a sea of inferior products? While the ROYOBI mowers are better rated than competing brands, a glance at competing electric mowers with similar or higher prices reveals several viable gas alternatives. The bottom line is, while the idea of your “Carbon Footprint” was created by oil companies as a PR tactic, switching to an electric lawnmower is something you can do to be part of the solution rather than the problem.
Have I made a dubious claim that you’d like to verify? Are you wondering how I got those numbers on the lawnmowers’ costs? Check out my math and sources here.
