A business case for electric equipment includes a guide to cost ownership analysis.
While transitioning to electric equipment is appealing for many reasons, the upfront cost is often a deterrent for landscape and mowing contractors. But ‘going electric’ is not just better for the environment, but better for your bottom line, too. Leveraging the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) framework, which factors upfront costs in addition to the ongoing running and maintenance costs, helps build a practical business case to guide investment decisions.
What is TCO?
TCO refers to the total cost of ownership of capital equipment, such as a commercial ride-on mower. It factors in all expenses related to owning and using the vehicle throughout its entire lifespan. TCO covers purchase, maintenance, fuel or running costs, replacement, and disposal costs.
Regardless of the scale of the operation and how the budget is structured, considering TCO for the entire life cycle – from purchase to ongoing operation and maintenance – supports a favourable business case for an electric fleet.
Case study: Delta FM
Delta FM is the facilities maintenance arm of Compass Group, which employs 30,000 people in Australia.
Nick Coleman is a regional manager within Delta FM, providing maintenance services to 10 public schools in Queensland as part of public-private partnership (PPP). And because it’s a partnership with government, Delta FM needs to help them reach their sustainability goals.
“We were looking at changing over to battery products by 2025.
“EcoTeq approached us and we met for a demo. We then bought an electric mower to trial for 12 months and fell in love with it. We bought eight more and have 10 more arriving soon.”
Nick said he built a business case for the switch to electric by comparing costs and looking at the total cost of ownership over a five-year period and taking depreciation into account. After creating a lifecycle cost analysis sheet, Nick quickly discovered that over the five years, EcoTeq’s Rival mower would be $23,500 ahead of its dieselpowered counterpart even with the higher initial outlay to purchase the electric mower.
“We worked out that with the running and maintenance costs, we’d be saving $15.57 per hour with the electric Rival mower,” Nick outlined. “On average, our diesel mowers use 7.2 litres per hour. That’s $13.86 per hour. Multiply that figure by 16 hours and that’s a cost of $222 in diesel per week. And how much better is it to not be pumping all that diesel pollution into the air?”
“We didn’t need to budget for any infrastructure modifications, either. We didn’t have to install 3-phase or anything like that. We bolted an external charger to the wall which plugs into a regular socket,” Nick pointed out.
The less obvious cost benefits of going electric
While maintenance and running costs take centre stage in a TCO analysis, there are other factors often overlooked in the calculations:
1. Increased operational hours: noise complaints are a constant challenge, especially in residential areas. The quiet operation of electric mowers allows operators to work extended hours for enhanced productivity.
2. Reduced operator strain and injury: regular and frequent exposure to high levels of vibration – such as those produced by diesel mowers – can lead to permanent stain or even injury. Reduced exposure to vibration equals reduced downtime due to injury and minimises the risk of compensation claims.
3. Less downtime: electric equipment is seriously easy to maintain. With no internal combustion engine and no hydraulics, there are fewer points of failure, meaning greater uptime and productivity.
4. Greater operational efficiency: electric mowers deliver up to 30 per cent faster ground coverage through all grass conditions.
Let the numbers talk: EcoTeq’s TCO Calculator
EcoTeq has developed an independently reviewed and easy-tofollow calculator to understand the TCO of electric and ICE mowers. Factoring maintenance costs, fuel costs, running costs, operational hours, and machine performance and output, realistic figures for your business case are available in just a few clicks.
Request a no-obligation TCO consultation to discover the long-term savings of ‘going electric’. Contact EcoTeq on 1800 100 150 or visit ecoteq.com.au.
