Operating an Electric Lawn Mower

Between the increasing cost of gas and the wide variety of electric lawn mowers on the market now, you might be curious how much it costs to own and operate one compared to a gas model. Here’s what you need to know.

What We’re Comparing: Push Mower vs. Push Mower
Electric mowers have come a long way in just a short few years and there is quite a variety of them on the market. You can find everything from petite and inexpensive 13″ push mowers all the way up to 54″ zero-turn riding mowers suitable for mowing multiple acres.

As much as we’d love to compare everything across the whole range of the electric lawn mower market, that would make this article a wee bit long to read in a sitting. Instead, we’re going to focus on comparing the most common kind of lawn mower when used on an average lawn. For American readers, the most common mower type is the push mower, and the average lawn size is around a quarter of an acre.

On top of that, we’re also limiting our comparison to battery-powered electric mowers and excluding corded electric mowers. Even in small yards, corded mowers are an unbelievable hassle and battery-powered mowers are now so cheap and efficient that there’s just no reason to bother with the nonsense of being tethered to the wall of your garage.

If you’re curious about larger mowers and larger lawns, don’t worry. The way we’re comparing gasoline-powered push mowers to electric push mowers can be easily adapted to other sizes. The general concepts are the same.

How Operating Costs Compare Over Time
When comparing operating costs, it’s not just about how much it costs to charge an electric mower’s batteries vs. filling the gas tank on a traditional mower. There are quite a few extra variables at play that tip the scales in favor of the electric mower—especially for folks with small urban and suburban lawns.  READ MORE...