California Will Go from Gas to Electric Powered Lawn Equipment
Sarah Roughan-Martinez
If you live in or work with an HOA, you already know that landscape maintenance requires a large portion of many associations’ budget. Not only could the landscape be the most expensive line item, it is perhaps the largest impact on the overall appeal and property values within the community. Landscape professionals are the association’s go-to teammates for the upkeep of healthy scenery. Landscape crews work each week to beautify your communities. Having a solid relationship with your business partners is imperative to ensure consistent landscape maintenance, arbor care, and enhancements.
On October 11th, 2021, California passed AB 1346 which will phase out the sale of new gas-powered small off-road engines (SORE) in California. The bill will limit or prohibit emissions from new off-road engines and will ban the sale of SOREs by January 1st, 2024. Lawn and garden equipment are the primary targets of the law. Landscape companies will need to transition to zero- emission equipment.
Being one step ahead of common concerns can benefi t the process of working together. According to a consensus of reputable service providers in Orange County, preliminary fi ndings indicate that electric equipment is maybe 3 to 5 times more expensive than gas equipment, including batteries and chargers. Sequentially this will have an impact on each association’s budget.
Jamie Gould, Vice President of Community Management at PMP, explains “a big concern is charging capability and infrastructure.” Commercial batteries only last 3-4 hours. If
18 January | February 2023
there are no charging stations available, the maintenance crew will need to be equipped with additional batteries to swap out.
Matt Davenport, CEO at Monarch Environmental, explains that this might feel like an “assault to maintenance companies who already have margin pressure from increases in wages, parts, and gasoline.” It’s important that homeowners understand that their business partners in the landscape industry are required to follow new regulations. Any increase in monthly assessments is unlikely to benefi t the profi t of landscape companies but simply satisfy the rising costs of business. Professionals in this industry are currently anticipating the new requirements and most have developed a phasing plan to convert to electricity in order to prevent violation repercussions in the future.
It is common knowledge that the number one landscape- related complaint from homeowners is the noise and exhaust emissions caused by gas-powered equipment such as leaf blowers, hedge trimmers, and lawnmowers. Gas-powered equipment is loud, especially in urban areas where the sound ricochets off homes and buildings. The bill states, “one hour of operation of a commercial leaf blower can emit as much ROG [reactive organic gases] plus NOx [oxides of nitrogen]as driving 1,100 miles in a new passenger vehicle.” Homeowners should look forward to decreased emissions and noise disturbances. Electric equipment does not release fumes, toxins, or harmful chemicals into the air.
Other benefi ts include lower operating costs per machine. While the initial cost may be higher, the operating costs are much
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