Last Updated on February 9, 2025 by Brian Beck
If you were not aware, this year marks 30 years since the first robotic mower it the market. Why am I just now hearing about this you ask? Well that is a very loaded question that revolves around cheap energy, complacency, and failure to innovate as well as adopt but that is another blog, or book that will not be discussed here. What I will discuss is what you are missing by being in that luddite crowd (don’t be that guy) that is reluctant to change. We have been selling and implementing several different machines over the past few years (2018) and have realized just how valuable they are. My general experience from those who have adopted this technology is, “Why didn’t we do it sooner?” Well, hopefully after reading this you have better insight as to how it can better serve you. Let’s dig in, here are some key points:
The walk-behind mower- That device that you have known since the late 1940’s and has changed very little is based on YOU being behind it. This obviously means that the lawn, or whoever is cutting it has to be there in order to have productivity. The concept of mowing a lawn is severely outdated, about the same amount of time that the robotic mower debuted in Sweden in 1995. This technology has liberated those who have investigated, understood and adopted it. Once realized you will understand the true meaning of automation, time leveraging and omnipresence. In other words, you can mow while you are absent (even asleep) and get things done!
Turf health- One of the major things I first noticed with automation is that the grass looked awesome. Because of the frequency of the cut two big things were eliminated by doing so, grass clippings, or the need to bag and turf stress from cutting. The more often you cut a lawn the less stress is experienced. Because the grass being cut off is typically less than 1/4″ the clippings are virtually invisible and get digested by the surface microbes within hours after the cutting. Because these clippings are so small and returned back into the soil it provides free nutrients that would otherwise be lost by bagging. Because of the lessened stress in the turf it will also require slightly less water as the repair form cutting is minimal. the bottom line is that the lawn will look better. A little unknown secret in the lawn industry is that if you really want a great looking lawn you will want to cut it at least twice per week but who has money or time for that?
Noise- Every once in a while I would get approached by a neighbor that would express their disdain that I was next door mowing a lawn. Now, Don’t like unnecessary noise more than anyone else but what if you could eliminate it altogether? The robotic mowers emit a dB about 55 to 60, which means it is about as loud as a coffee table conversation which means you can mow at night and further your time leveraging experience.
Pollution- Gas powered equipment have emissions, that goes without saying. Gas powered mowers use a lot of energy to cut grass. There are a few reasons for this but to give you an idea one horsepower is equal to 745 Watts of energy. Most mowers are over 5HP. It only takes less than 80 Watts to cut grass when you are micro-managing it, so where is the remainder of that energy going? Well, it is going into the atmosphere along with your money!
Safety- I can’t tell you how many people thought that the mowers were going to kill their dog, maim a kid or something of the like. These machines have several sensors that prevent injury, as a matter of fact they are safer than your vacuum cleaner, your desktop fan AND especially your gas powered lawnmower, even if it is electric, they have dangerous swinging blades too!
As you can see, there are quite a few benefits that support the adoption of automation, that is unless you like a lawn that is uncut 6 days out of the week, wasting energy and resources and spending your time performing unnecessary manual labor. I mean, you don’t light a fire everyday to meet your home, pump your own water, wash your own laundry or fire up the horse and buggy to go to the store. You get the idea I hope.
For more information be sure to check out our sister company, Front Range Autmow at: www.frontrangeautmow.com