Powering the future – green battery technology

Anyone who spends time maintaining their garden knows how frustrating it can be using old-style battery powered tools. Admittedly they are cleaner and quieter than petrol, are portable and ‘go-anywhere’ unlike mains electric powered tools, but up until recently their power has been fairly limited.

Add to this the slow charging times, the ‘winding-down’ effect as the power dwindled and the fact that they lost all their power when stored and you can see why serious gardeners have traditionally been sceptical about utilising battery power. 

Until now. A new generation of lightweight Lithium-ion (or Li-ion) batteries, has been changing the rules and challenging even the power of petrol. 

Lithium (from the Greek for stone, ‘lithos’ ) is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element we know. This makes it ideal for use in batteries and keeps the weight of tools down. 

And that’s not all. Modern Li-ion batteries charge very fast, they do not lose power when stored and run for significantly longer with no ‘winding-down’ effect, just workable power from start to finish.

So far so good. But they can’t be that powerful surely? It is, after all, the overall power of petrol tools, particularly in the garden, that has given them the upper hand over the years.

Battery powered tools may be able to challenge electric mains powered tools but surely they can’t challenge petrol?

Well, the answer is, yes they can. New batteries are being developed all the time, they get lighter and more powerful with each generation and some of the latest models are providing power equitable to that of petrol engines. (See the example below)

Li-Ion powered Redback mower – performs like petrol model on small/medium lawns

This situation can only improve with the research and development many companies are putting into the technology, making a truly battery-powered future possible, where all your powered tools can be stored and charged – one unit for all – with phenomenally improved running times and much shorter charging times.

So, for example, you could cut your lawn while your hedge-cutter is charging, then cut your hedge while your leaf blower/vac is charging, then run your blower/vac while you charge your chainsaw, ready to make firewood. 

A lot of these advantages are available now. There are plenty of machines available that can match petrol, from powerful blowers to sharp and efficient hedgetrimmers.

Check out our range of cordless battery powered tools here.