Snow. Sunshine. Winds! Rain. Several beautiful, summer-like days in a row? Spring in Colorado is always a bit unpredictable!
But one thing we do know is that here in the Front Range, after our sporadic spring moisture usually comes a green, grassy May.
To prepare, you may be doing some spring cleaning – like dusting off and completing annual maintenance on your lawn and garden equipment. If you are still using gas-powered equipment such as lawn mowers, string trimmers, or leaf blowers to keep your lawn beautiful, now is the time to consider going electric!
Here are 5 reasons why going green will directly benefit you and your community:
- You can get a huge discount when you upgrade! Thanks to a new law that went into effect in 2024, Coloradans now receive a 30% point of sale discount on electric lawn mowers, leaf blowers, trimmers, and snow blowers at participating retailers statewide. This is not a rebate – you get the discount right when you buy. No coupon or application required! However, please call a retailer or store in advance to confirm their participation. The Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG) has compiled a list of participating retailers.
- Switching to electric lawn equipment eliminates the need for fuel and maintenance. You’ll never need to run to the gas station just to get a gallon of gas again! Simply charge up your battery overnight in advance. Batteries within brands are usually interchangeable, so you can easily have a few batteries that work in multiple devices. Plus, there’s no need to keep gas and oil at home, which is safer for you, your family, children, and pets.
- Electric lawn equipment is much quieter than comparable gas-powered equipment, reducing noise pollution.
- Mow whenever you want without waking up your family or neighbors! Or send your neighbors this article to encourage them to go electric, so they can stop waking you up so early in the summer.
- Complete your yard work without needing intense hearing protection, and be able to listen to a favorite podcast or music to pass the time instead.
- Avoid startling your children or pets, if they are sensitive to loud noises.
- Electric equipment is much cleaner. Using gas-powered lawn equipment, in comparison, creates a large amount of air pollution, water pollution, and noise pollution.
- It surprises many people to learn that running a gas-powered lawn mower for one hour generates the same emissions as driving a car 350 miles! And running a gas-powered leaf blower for one hour is the equivalent of driving a car over 1,000 miles. That’s the same distance as driving from Denver to Los Angeles!
- Gas-powered lawn equipment is also directly detrimental to the user, as two-stroke motors are some of the most polluting engines still on the market today. All those gases and fumes get emitted straight into the path of the person pushing or using the equipment, which is bad for their health.
- You’ll have the coolest equipment on the block! Be the envy of your neighbors with the latest tech around.
- And, they make great gifts. Wink wink, hint hint, Mother’s and Father’s Day are right around the corner! (May 11 and June 15)
- Many seniors also find that electric equipment is easier to use because it’s lighter and takes less effort. Whether you’re shopping for yourself, or looking for a gift for a parent, electric equipment is a great option.
Can’t afford a new mower, even with 30% off?
The Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) also partners with participating local governments in the Front Range for limited residential mower trade-in events, where qualifying residents can bring in their old gas mower for a discount on a new electric model. Learn more at: MowDownPollution.org.
Hoping your apartment complex, landlord, or building’s commercial maintenance crew will go electric?
The RAQC offers small business grants to help commercial operators purchase new electric mowers, line trimmers, and other equipment. Learn more at MowDownPollution.org.
What is my city or county doing to help reduce their impact?
This summer, you will see more electric landscaping equipment being used in parks and other public spaces. That’s a result of the new Colorado state law that requires public entities to begin transitioning their older gas-powered equipment to new, clean electric alternatives!
