08/26/2022
One of the easiest ways that Vermonters can reduce the use of fossil fuels and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is by switching to battery-electric lawn mowers and yard tools. This is important because Vermonters do a LOT of mowing and yard work. In fact, a recent US DOT report (US DOT: Private and Commercial Nonhighway Use of Gasoline – 2019) found that we consume over 5 MILLION gallons of gasoline annually on lawn care, and this doesn’t even include all the diesel-powered lawn mowers.
To help Vermonters make this switch, all of Vermont’s utility companies now offer rebates on residential WALK-BEHIND E-mowers and E-yard tools (e.g. string trimmers, leaf blowers, chain saws, etc.), and these rebates can reduce the retail price by 20% to 25% (or more). Links to the rebate applications, rules, and restrictions can be found on the Utility Incentives page of the Mow Electric! website.
In particular, gas-powered RESIDENTIAL/LIGHT DUTY RIDING mowers (aka “lawn tractors”) can consume as much as 40 to 60 gallons of fuel annually, and there are thousands of these operating in Vermont. Consequently, switching to E-riding mowers can also make a meaningful impact on reducing our GHG emissions, as well as reducing noise and air pollution. (Note: the term “residential/light-duty” describes riding mowers that are typically operated for less than 10 or 15 hours per week, with the battery-electric versions having “run-times” of 2 to 2.5 hours, which is typically enough to mow 2 to 5 acres on a single charge).
As shown on the Explore Equipment page of the Mow Electric! website, there are now nine brands of residential E-riding mowers, including EGO, Cub Cadet, Ryobi, Greenworks, DR Power Equipment, Mean Green, and Hustler. The cost of these E-mowers ranges from $3,000 to $18,000, with the mid-range price being between $5,000 and $7,000, which is typically $1,500 to $2,500 more than a comparable gas-powered mower.
However, since only two Vermont utilities - GMP and Burlington Electric Department - currently offer rebates for these residential E-riding mowers, and these rebates are only $100 and $200 respectively, the Mow Electric! Campaign is collaborating with VEIC to collect the Vermont-specific data needed to determine if these rebate values could be increased to more accurately reflect their potential to reduce GHG emissions, and to help other Vermont utilities create these rebates.
To that end, we’re looking for Vermonters who use residential riding mowers to complete and submit a short survey by Tuesday, September 13th. There are two options for submitting this survey:
And to enable us to collect as much data as possible, please forward this e-mail to your Vermont friends, neighbors, co-workers, organizations, and companies who could help with this effort, and/or share it through social media.
This survey was developed by the Mow Electric! Campaign in collaboration with VEIC to collect data from Vermonters who use residential/light duty riding lawn mowers. This data will be used to calculate electric utility rebates that more accurately reflect the potential reductions in GHG emissions wh...
