Cornwall Hill College is trading the droning and clatter of its diesel lawnmowers for the whisper of a hyper efficient battery powered zero-turn mower that does the job faster with less fuss and at a small fraction of the cost.
Facilities staff at the prestigious college in Irene, Pretoria have been instrumental in driving the change and have nothing but praise for the Ego Power+ Zero Turn mower that is able to cut all the schools’ sports grounds, including three cricket ovals, rugby fields and academic areas on a single charge. The sporting good looks of the machine is also driving interest in electric landscaping equipment making it a talking point at inter-school events and helping the school to drive its rigorous sustainability drive that requires all internal combustion engine equipment to be phased out in the near future.
The college leads the way with innovation and the adoption of an electric fleet of landscaping equipment is intricately tied into its school curriculum giving students learning about technology and automation a chance to experience some of the leading-edge technology incorporated into the equipment and teaching more about sustainable energy and preserving the planet. With the ground upkeep able to be done around the clock without disrupting teaching, the spic and span school grounds also project the prestige of the school and ensure it always has its best foot forward.
Clinton Bloem, facilities manager at Cornwall Hill College is full of praise of the Ego Power+ Zero Turn mower crediting it with significantly improving the efficiency of the ground staff who are no longer relegated to cutting the grass when school is out with no sport or extracurricular activities that would otherwise be disrupted by the deafening drone and fumes of internal combustion equipment. Even so, the speed and agility of the new mower has proven to be another stand-out feature and grounds staff have more time to prepare surfaces and further improve the quality of the facilities.
“Having discussed battery-powered equipment with the management board and on confirmation the school is pursuing strenuous sustainability goals we decided to approach our longtime landscaping equipment supplier, Smith Power Equipment for more information. That’s when our representative Lionell Adams introduced us to the Ego Power+ range of battery powered equipment that is already being successfully used in commercial applications and suggested we run a short trial to try it for ourselves. Needless to say it was everything we were looking for and the board quickly decided to purchase the machines. We have subsequently begun phasing out petrol edge trimmers, chainsaws and push mowers and replacing them with Ego Power+ equivalents,” he says.
The school’s maintenance manager, Dewald Pretorius adds that the 56V ARC Lithium batteries are quick and easy to charge with the machine’s dedicated charger. Furthermore, other equipment including the heavy-duty chainsaws and trimmers are able to use the same high-capacity batteries which further simplifies charging procedures. “We have already cut our fuel consumption for the mowers and other machines from 400l per month to less than 200l and as each petrol machine is replaced it gets less to the point it will soon be zero. Buying, transporting and safely storing fuel out of possible harm’s way used to be a massive headache for us and we are more than pleased to be phasing that out.”
Mark Chittenden who is Smith Turf’s general manager says the Cornwall Hill College adoption of its Ego Power+ range is a game changer and a lead that is being followed by most schools due to the many advantages it has in institutions where “silence is golden” and sustainable practices are a top priority. With the cost of fuel spiralling out of control and ever higher maintenance costs becoming crippling, the minimal cost of charging and almost no maintenance requirement of the battery powered equipment is more than compelling enough a reason to make the change sooner rather than later.
The specifications of the Ego Power+ Zero Turn mower are as follows:
- Up to 6 EGO 56V ARC Lithium batteries for maximum runtime
- 22 HP equivalent engine
- Up to 11.26km/h cutting speed
- Customisable ride with user interface for ultimate control
- 3 driving modes: Control, Standard, Sport
- 5 Independent brushless motors
- 107cm cutting deck with zero turn radius
- 10 position cutting height adjustments
- 3-in-1 function: mulching, bagging, side-discharge
- Bluetooth, USB charging port and phone holder
- LED lights front, side, and rear
- IPX4 weather resistant construction
- 2-hour charge time with included Z6 charger and 4 x 10.0 Ah ARC Lithium batteries