Electric yard tools keep your yard gorgeous without the noise, hassle, and pollution of gas tools!
It’s no contest! Battery-powered electric landscaping tools are quieter, safer, and more convenient. They cost less to operate, don’t endanger our health, are better for the environment, and are powerful enough to handle even the largest yards and gardens. Your neighbors will appreciate them, too!
Four big reasons to switch to electric in your yard:
#1—WAY. LESS. POLLUTION.
Small gas-powered lawn equipment such as mowers and leaf blowers are big polluters! Gallon for gallon of gasoline used, the small gasoline engines found in lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and other power equipment pollute at a higher rate than other equipment and vehicles.
Lawn mowers: 1 hour of mowing is equal to driving 300 miles (from Ashland to Portland).
Leaf blowers: 1 hour is equal to driving 1100 miles (from Portland to San Diego!).
The solution is to go electric. Check out our local Ace Hardware store. They stock electric lawn mowers, leaf blowers, edgers, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, and may even have riding mowers. Electric yard equipment comes corded or cordless and is super quiet. Ace will recycle gas-powered equipment, too.
$$$ Tip: Go in on landscaping tools with your neighbors and share the cost. Buy one battery for multiple tools.
#2—Electric landscaping tools are powerful and easier to use:
- Instant start—no pulling cords, priming engines, etc.
- Excellent cutting, blowing, and trimming power
- Long run times and easy battery swap-outs
- Multiple tools can use the same batteries
- No refilling fuel tanks, engine oil, or gas cans
- No replacing spark plugs, air filters, and fuel filters
#3—Electric landscaping tools have lower operating costs:
- 10 times less expensive per hour of operation
- No expensive engine tune-ups
- No gas going slowly bad in a can somewhere, transitioning into a hazardous waste disposal trip if you don’t use it in time
#4—Electric landscaping tools are safer for operators, the public, and the environment:
- Quieter—gas tools create dangerous noise that can cause permanent hearing loss. Battery-powered tools are less than half as loud and operate at safe noise levels. Did we mention those happy neighbors?
- No harmful engine exhaust—gas tools produce pollutants linked to cancer, asthma, heart and lung disease
- No smog-forming air pollution—small gas engines are a leading source of air pollution in urban areas
- No solid toxic waste or fuel spills—tons of spent fuel filters, air filters, spark plugs, and oil cans from gas tool use are sent to landfills every year
- Dramatically lower carbon pollution—less than 1/10th the carbon emissions of gas-powered tools
- Safer for pollinators, insects, and wildlife
Take action in your yard!
Switch to electric lawn tools. Battery-powered tools produce zero emissions, are rechargeable, more efficient, reliable, and much quieter. Check out Electrify Now’s resource page with helpful tips.
Ask your yard care contractor if they have considered electric tools. A few key steps include:
- Let them know how much you value their service.
- Ask if they’ve ever considered using electric tools.
- Share the benefits – zero emissions, super quiet, rechargeable, lightweight.
- If they don’t plan on switching, politely let them know that you don’t want gas tools in your yard anymore – but if they ever make the switch, let you know!
Leave the leaves. While it’s common practice to tidy up your yard by removing all the fallen leaves, one of the most valuable things you can do to support pollinators and other wildlife (while also nurturing your soil) is to provide them with the winter cover they need.
As the Xerces Society puts it, “You gave them flowers and a place to nest. You tended your garden and avoided pesticides. Don’t carry all of that hard work out to the curb. Simply put, when we treat leaves like trash—we’re tossing out the beautiful moths and butterflies that we’ll surely miss and work so very hard to attract.”
Plan ahead for a big spring clean-up rather than a big leaf blow-down in fall. Also, keep in mind that when temperatures warm up again in spring, leaves can become a fire hazard. Make sure to keep them at least five feet from your home, or better yet, turn them into finished compost that you can use as mulch.
Work to eliminate gas leaf blowers. Did you know that in March 2024, the Portland City Council unanimously approved Ordinance 191653, phasing out the use of gas-powered leaf blowers citywide over the next four years? Check out Quiet Clean PDX, a volunteer-run effort to phase out gas-powered leaf blowers – to learn how Portland community members passed this ordinance!
Where to buy battery-powered lawn and garden tools & equipment in the Rogue Valley
April 17, 2024: Thanks to David McAlaster of SOCAN for compiling this list. Please contact the store before visiting to make sure they have the items in stock.
ASHLAND
- Ashland Ace Hardware – Lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, pole saws, string trimmers, leaf blowers, backpack leaf blowers, battery chargers.
- Bi-Mart – Lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, pole saw kits, string trimmers, leaf blowers, cultivators, battery chargers.
PHOENIX
- Home Depot – Lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, pole saws, string trimmers, leaf blowers, leaf vacuums, backpack batteries, battery chargers.
MEDFORD
- South Medford Grange Coop – Garden shears, leaf blowers.
- South Medford Walmart – Lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, string trimmers, leaf blowers.
- Crater Chain Saw – Lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, pole saws, string trimmers, leaf blowers, backpack batteries, battery chargers.
- Lowe’s – Lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, pole saws, string trimmers, leaf blowers, lawn edgers.
- Hubbard’s Home Center – Hedge trimmers, chainsaws, string trimmers, leaf blowers, and battery chargers.
- Zoll’s Lawn & Garden – Lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, string trimmers, handheld and backpack leaf blowers.
- North Medford Walmart – Lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, pole saws, string trimmers, leaf blowers, leaf vacuums.
CENTRAL POINT
- Ace Hardware (Inside Ray’s Food Place) – Lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, pole saws, string trimmers, leaf blowers.
WHITE CITY
- Grange Coop – Lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, pole saw attachments, string trimmers, leaf blowers.
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ARTICLE SOURCES:
Electrify PDX – Our friends at Electrify PDX furnished much of the content on this page. We are so thankful to them for letting us share resources!