Greenworks Commercial Now Has a Comprehensive Gas-Free Solution for Professional Crews
Greenworks invited us up to visit their testing facility in White Pine, Tennessee just down the road from their manufacturing facility in Morristown. Set on what used to be a golf course, we had acres upon acres to use and learn more about the most recent Greenworks Commercial equipment geared toward professional users.
For residential users, battery-powered lawn care equipment has been a reasonable alternative to gas and corded products for a while. That’s not been the case for Pros, though. Sure, there have been options, but there’s been some level of compromise, but it was justified with the morality clause that it’s better for the planet.
I knew I’d be seeing some new products during my visit. Still, I wasn’t prepared for Greenworks CEO Yin Chen to deliver an address enthusiastically declaring that Greenworks is not only the world’s best battery OPE for landscapers, but that it’s now fully in their best interest to switch from gas to battery products.
It’s a bold claim, for sure. But is it just marketing hype? I spent the rest of the day with that question in the back of my mind.
Does Greenworks Commercial Cover Everything Pros Need?
First of all, if there aren’t products available to cover your needs, you don’t have a total solution. For most mow and blow lawn crews, Greenworks Commercial wrapped that up with the launch of the Optimus mowers. Between zero turns, stand-ons, and walk-behinds, you have all the mowing capability you need up to 72-inch models. Plus, select riders have electronic take off (ETO) ports to add attachments.
The 82V handheld tools have been in the line for years with solid performance, so the latest generation primarily pushes toward greater optimization along with plugging some smaller gaps.
Beyond the basics, there’s an expanding list of products that fit other landscaping and arborist needs. Here’s a quick list of the highlights:
- Chainsaws up to 28 inches
- Backpack blowers
- Brush cutters
- Ride-on sprayers/spreaders
- Backpack sprayers
- UTVs
- Snow throwers
- Power cutters
- Cultivators
- Augers
There are still some gaps remaining, though. For example, there’s no reel mower or aerator yet. While some groundskeepers may still be lacking certain specialty equipment, Greenworks Commercial really does have the majority of products that professional lawn care and landscaping crews need. So, for most crews, Greenworks Commercial has you 100% covered.
Are There Performance Compromises?
For riding equipment, Optimus finally ended the performance compromises. The mowers are capable of cutting at 19000 fpm blade tip speeds, giving us the cut quality, discharge, bagging, and mulching efficiency we expect from gas mowers.
Again, handheld tools have been in a good place for a while. However, two key factors are making the latest generation even more capable.
For one, Greenworks Commercial’s decision to start with an 82V system is paying dividends with today’s battery and motor technology. If you recall the watts equation (voltage x current = watts), there’s an inverse relationship between voltage and current. In other words, if you have more of one, you need less of the other to produce the same number of watts.
Running a higher voltage than other brands means Greenworks Commercial’s batteries have to produce less current to reach power targets, and the current load tends to define the limits thanks to electrical resistance and heat buildup.
That leads us to the next big breakthrough: Optimus Core battery technology. With tabless and pouch cell designs significantly decreasing the amount of electrical resistance in modern battery packs, Greenworks Commercial is able to drive even higher watts than before. In fact, a single Optimus Core battery can produce power equivalent to a 9.6HP gas engine!
What would you do with that kind of power? For starters, Greenworks Commercial now has a 28-inch H.O.G. chainsaw and a new backpack blower that can produce 50 Newtons of blowing force. At this point, no other brand is delivering that kind of performance.
The benefits go both ways, and Optimus Core batteries have shockingly fast charge times considering their capacities.
How Much of an Issue is Runtime?
There’s no question that runtime has presented a significant obstacle for many Pros considering the switch to battery power. Greenworks Commercial has two approaches in dealing with it.
For riding equipment, it’s about all-day runtime. If you purchase your riding mowers with the highest battery capacities, you can expect more than 8 hours of runtime.
That will decrease over time, as all batteries have a known degradation. However, Optimus Z LFP lithium batteries can run 2000 cycles before they’re down to 80% of their original capacity. That’s more than seven and a half years if you’re mowing full-time five days a week!
For the handheld tools, Greenworks Commercial targets meeting or exceeding the runtime you get from a full tank of gas in comparable equipment. There are some “yeah, but” thoughts when it comes to this. Most of them boil down to how many extra batteries you need to carry or how to charge them, which tees up our next topic.
How Do You Deal With Charging Full Fleets of Equipment?
Charging has been one of the biggest obstacles to overcome, starting with how you charge so many batteries and mowers overnight at the shop. Greenworks Commercial now has multiple options to get that done, including scaling standard chargers for battery packs and EV-style chargers for riding equipment. The latest innovations are maximizing what you can do with a 15A outlet and the Greenworks Commercial team can work with you on a custom charging loadout for your specific needs.
To address charging on the go, Greenworks Commercial has several impressive solutions. We’ve known about the possibility of using solar panels on top of an enclosed trailer for several years, and that’s still an option. They’re helpful as a supplement to extend your day a bit, but some crews need more.
For your handheld tools, there’s a 6-port charger that fits on select zero turn and stand on mowers and pulls power from the ETO. Since many crews often finish the day with 30% or more power left on the mower, why not use some of it to charge other batteries?
The biggest step is the new EnergyCube. Sporting 16.2 kWh of capacity, you can wire up your trailer to charge battery packs and riding equipment. It has a host of features, including 4G/GPS tracking and app control, in addition to being a fast charging source for your batteries.
Perhaps most importantly, it can accept a charge while charging your batteries. By installing a pass-through port on your trailer, you can plug in the trailer when you get back to the shop while the EnergyCube powers all your rider and battery chargers. The next morning, all your equipment, including the EnergyCube has a full charge and you didn’t have to take anything off the trailer to get it done.
Aren’t Battery-Powered Handhelds Heavier?
Over the past few years, we’ve known that battery power will be able to meet or exceed gas engine power. The question has been how much weight we’ll have to manage to gain the convenience.
That has been a focus for the design teams in Greenworks Commercial’s latest generation of handheld tools. As of now, many of them with a battery weigh the same or a little less than their gas counterparts fully loaded with gas and oil.
That doesn’t mean they’re all super lightweight, though. If you grab Greenworks Commercial’s most powerful string trimmer, for example, it’s going to be similar in weight to its 36cc Pro-grade gas counterpart. Just like with gas equipment, as you step down in power, you’ll be stepping down a similar amount of weight, though.
The nice thing about that is you can make like-for-like equipment swaps. If you run a residential lawn crew and rely on string trimmers in the 26cc class, you’ll find a battery-powered model with comparable performance and weight.
How Often Will I Have to Service My Equipment?
Service has been another sticking point for many Pros. After all, there are a whole lot more places that service gas engines than brushless motors.
However, the shift from gas engines opens up different design philosophies. For example, all the brushless motors on Optimus Z riding mowers are direct drive. There are no belts or pulleys. The different systems don’t require one motor to split its power the way a gas engine does.
But what if you hit a hidden pipe and bend the spindle? How hard is that to replace?
The better question is… how do you prevent the spindle from getting damaged in the first place?
With brushless motor technology, Greenworks Commercial’s electronics package monitors the blades 30 times per second. When you hit that pipe, it’s able to stop the blade before any damage occurs to the spindle. You might still chip the blade edge, but you’re going to be able to keep mowing.
That’s the kind of thought Greenworks Commercial put into this generation of products. It makes for eye-popping service life expectations. Most of the handheld tools can last 1000 hours or more, while the riders can go 2000 hours or more. Aside from regular maintenance you do in the shop, this equipment is designed to simply work.
How Costly is it to Switch?
There’s no getting around the fact that putting together a fully electrified crew is expensive. However, you might be surprised when you count the cost over time. Fuel and service costs add up with gas equipment, along with the time that goes into stopping at the gas station or having equipment down for service.
Greenworks Commercial has done a lot of homework to offer cost comparisons on their equipment, including estimates that are specific to your state, so you can see a range of cost effects. Take a look at how the 72-inch Optimus Z zero turn stacks up against a high-quality diesel model:
Of course, do the math for yourself and see if it makes sense. Every way I’ve worked it out in my own calculations, you come out way ahead over 5 years to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars—and that’s just one crew.
It can be even more profitable as well. In some parts of the country, fully electrified crews command a premium for residential lawn care, and it can open up contracts for large properties that require gas-free or noise-reduced operations.
Final Thoughts
There’s so much more to the story that I don’t have the time and space to hit on right now, like the comfort of the mowers, unique innovations, the effects of lower noise and emissions, and how much more convenient battery-powered equipment is in general.
Let’s get back to the original question, though. Has Greenworks Commercial convinced me that a fully battery-powered crew is not only a possibility, but that it’s actually more beneficial for professional crews?
Yes, they have.
The performance and runtime of the equipment are there, plus it’s more convenient for your crew and healthier for them to use. The lower noise without compromising quality results makes for happier clients. Less equipment downtime and higher long-term profits make it easier on your business.
100% battery power isn’t solution for every situation, though. Some properties and grounds may still need some specialty gas equipment to get the job done. However, the majority of professional lawn care and landscaping businesses can get everything they need from Greenworks Commercial. No one else in the business has you covered as comprehensively and with as optimized a portfolio.
