- Published
Part of the soundtrack to a day in southern California is the drone of petrol-powered gardening equipment.
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Part → publish → equipment
Noise is one of the main reasons that cities around the US, external are banning petrol landscaping tools or encouraging electric alternatives.
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cities → ban → alternatives
These alternatives have the additional benefits of reducing carbon emissions, vibrations and the exposure of landscapers to pollution.
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alternatives → have → pollution
In addition they can mean longer working hours, as they can be used at times when residents demand quiet.
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residents → mean → quiet
Today, I'm taking part in training run by the American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA), an organisation supporting the transition towards electric landscaping equipment.
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I → take → equipment
To my surprise, the electric backpack leaf blower I strap on is not much heavier than my normal rucksack.
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I → strap → rucksack
Using the blower to herd balls around the park feels fairly intuitive, though naturally I'm much clumsier and slower than the pro landscapers.
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I → use → landscapers
As for noise, there's still a buzz, but the sound is higher-pitched and not quite so loud as the familiar petrol-powered machines.
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sound → be → machines
The move to electric power is attracting new companies to the market for gardening kit.
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move → attract → kit
But in 2022, after the Covid-19 pandemic made many people more sensitive to noise, and following a couple of years of research and development, the company realised that its aerospace-grade fans would work well in leaf blowers.
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fans → make → blowers
"Our technology is cleaner, quieter and more efficient than other air-moving technologies that exist today," according to Andrew Terajewicz, Whisper Aero's director of air management.
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that → move → management
The battery on Whisper Aero's blower lasts up to 15 minutes at full power.
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battery → last → power
The company has had to scale up its manufacturing volume in its expansion to consumer technology.
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company → have → technology
Online pre-orders of Whisper Aero's handheld leaf blower started this year.
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orders → start → blower
It's priced at the high-end of electric leaf blowers, which are often more expensive than traditional petrol versions.
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which → price → versions
But for that you get a machine which is less likely to disturb the peace.
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which → get → peace
"It is so ultra quiet yet powerful, that the brain has a hard time understanding what's happening," says Dan Mabe, the former landscaper who founded AGZA.
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who → have → AGZA
Whisper Aero aims to further develop its products, including a backpack leaf blower that would be better suited to professional landscapers.
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that → aim → landscapers
Even with innovation like that, petrol-powered machines are unlikely to disappear anytime soon, particularly for professional landscapers.
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machines → power → landscapers
For a start, petrol machines are much more powerful, which makes for quicker work, so less time is spent lugging around heavy equipment.
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time → make → equipment
Terajewicz says that heavy-duty petrol backpack blowers can reach a maximum blowing force of about 50 newtons.
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blowers → say → newtons
The handheld Whisper Aero blower typically runs at about half that, though it can go higher.
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it → run → that
Professional gardeners like to use their blowers at full throttle.
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gardeners → like → throttle
"For us, it's a little bit hard to use electric," explains Carlos Camarena, a supervisor for a California landscaping company.
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Camarena → use → company
Camarena's company uses electric tools where they're required to, in cities with ordinances banning petrol tools.
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they → use → tools
But when they have a choice, they stick to petrol.
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they → have → petrol
His company typically uses batteries that last for about 30 minutes.
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that → use → minutes
A crew has six batteries charging at any given time; each takes about 45 minutes to reach a full charge.
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each → have → charge
One landscaper estimates that it would cost his business around $10,000 (£7,540) to transition all their equipment.
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it → estimate → equipment
The subsidies and rebates offered by some local governments may not be enough to offset the cost of the switch.
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subsidies → offer → switch
The change would be even harder for landscapers who work as sole proprietors, with a single vehicle and limited space for charging and storing equipment.
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who → work → equipment
Added to that is the weight of tools with multiple batteries, and the cost of accessories to hold them all.
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weight → add → them
Nevertheless the biggest makers of power tools are investing in electric.
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makers → invest → electric
Stihl, a power tool manufacturer headquartered in Germany, aims for battery-powered equipment to make up 35% of its sales by next year, and 80% by 2035.
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equipment → headquarter → 2035
It's on track to meet the 2027 goal in Europe, though sales in the US have been slower.
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sales → meet → US
To help reach its targets, the company opened its first plant solely manufacturing batteries and tools, in Romania in 2025.
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company → help → 2025
"We like to say that we are dual-technology leaders," says Paul Hicks, senior marketing and product manager at Stihl GB.
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Hicks → like → GB
But in the large majority of cases, battery-power tools pay off fairly swiftly because of the cost of fuel."
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tools → pay → fuel
In May, Stihl announced a new battery system that uses high-performance batteries.
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that → announce → batteries
These batteries use a relatively new, more efficient design for lithium battery cells, known as tabless cells.
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batteries → use → cells
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
