Robotic Mowing — an Eco-conscious Solution

Kress RTKn network-based wireless robotic mower. (kress.com))

Seth Deere

Robotic mowing, a topic that has only gained and will continue to gain popularity as time goes on. How many of you were aware of them two years, five years, 20 years ago? Yes, 20 years. It may come as a surprise to some of you that robotic mowers have been around in one form or another for over 30 years. (If you want to feel bad, that’s only 1995.) The pedant in me wants to mention the originally patented MowBot from 1969, but for simplicity and mass market’s sake, let’s stick with the Andre Collins-patented and later Husqvarna- released model.

So, 30-plus years and it’s only the past five to10 that momentum in the U.S. has picked up. So why is that? Part of the answer is that the vast majority of manufacturers in the beginning were of European origin and focused on their market with small lawns. The average American lawn is larger than their counterparts across the pond. So smaller products in a market with larger lawns and abundant summer jobs did not exactly spark a high demand.

In the early days the limited number of products from a limited selection of brands needed far more pristine, small, even lawns so as not to constantly get stuck. This is not a disparagement of them, but brings us to our next section.

Capabilities Today: Manufacturers have continued to evolve and refine their products to be more successful and hands-off. We now have small mowers, tall mowers, big mowers and even snow blowers. So larger, more complex, uneven, and non-ideal lawns have a product that will succeed where in the past it may have never worked. Steep slopes, single mowers that can mow up to 18 acres, wireless (RTK + Vision), rain sensors, scheduling and even fleet management of multiple units are now options. In short, there are now products that work with less hands-on intervention in less-than-ideal scenarios.

Ease of Use: The technology today has made massive strides. You can monitor and send commands from anywhere with the inclusion of Wi-Fi and 4G technologies. This means easier setup and interactions as we would expect with “smart” products.

Cost: This is a big one and t has been affected by quite a few factors. A simple way to look at it is cost per acre. Robotic mowers are limited primarily by battery size and how it uses that limited energy determines how much area it can cover in 24 to 72 hours. The older wired robotic mowers used a “random cut” approach, similar to that of early Roombas. It would bounce around inside of the boundaries from start to finish leaving a shorter, carpet-like lawn. Wireless RTK mowers brought back the stripes and easily doubled the efficiency of an area (similar to zero-turn ride-on mowers). So, a mower that mowed1.25 acres in the past, can now mow over 2.5 acres with the same battery. While the cost for these is higher, going back to the diversity of product means more options with similar capabilities at a lower cost. But bear in mind serviceability and product longevity does vary between models, so lowest cost may cost more in the long run.

Husqvarna CEORA wireless commercial robotic mower for large areas up to 18 acres. (husqvarna.com)

Eco-conscious Transition: Could you just buy an electric push or ride-on mower? Most definitely. It is quiet and you don’t have to contribute to the 17 million gallons of lawn equipment fuel spilled annually, the 5% annual air pollution from garden equipment, or even think about the fact that one hour of mowing is equivalent to driving 350 miles in terms of volatile organic emissions. While legislation is pushing us toward adoption in many cases, homeowners themselves are already making the switch for silence and peace of mind alone.

Robotic mowers are just one step further with the added benefit of consistent mowing and keeping your Saturday mornings to yourself. Side note: that consistency helps to naturally fertilize your lawn with smaller, more regular clippings and reduces overall thatch buildup which can suffocate the root system and consequently might need aeration or fertilization chemicals.

So I will ask, why is now a good time to move to a robotic mower? Products have evolved to the point where we as consumers have a wide range of selection that works more efficiently and are far more capable than ever before – all while coming in at a lower cost than the past. So, while both electric push mowers and robotic mowers are now sustainable, reliable, viable, eco-friendly options, the real question to you is, “To mow or not to mow.”

Seth Deere has been an employee with Autmow since 2020, a company that specializes in robotic mowers powered by their network of experts.

Sources:

EPA Statistics: LINK

History of Mowing: LINK