Cooperative ownership models

Why E-Lawn Care Equipment is Conducive to Shared Ownership

Since battery-electric mowers don’t use gas or diesel fuel, don’t require oil changes, and have very few moving parts to wear out and break, they’re well suited for shared or cooperative ownership.


To help neighborhood groups develop these alternative ownership arrangements, we’ve provided a description of a shared E-mower arrangement in use at the Ten Stones Village Association since 2019. We’ve also provided a description and link to their interactive, Google Drive “Scheduling and Recharge Calculator Tool” that not only allows residents to schedule their mowing, but also automatically calculates available run time based on mower use and recharge time.

Scheduling and Run Time/Recharge Calculator Tool

This spreadsheet tool automatically adjusts both available runtime and needed recharge time based on usage and battery-capacity. The calculation formula used in this tool is based on a mower with a 2.75 hour runtime, but this can be adjusted for mowers with different run times. Download and/or make a copy of the spreadsheet and feel free to contact us if you need assistance customizing for your specific application. As needed, this tool can also be used to track mower use by individual members of the group.



If you’re part of a group who’s also using this approach and would like to share your story on the website, please contact us with the details, ideally with a photo, ownership agreement, etc.

Shared Ownership: Ten Stones Village Association

The Ten Stones Village Association is located in Charlotte, Vermont and consists of 16 households sharing the care/management of 88 acres of land and related infrastructure.  Since 2019, the community has cooperatively owned a Mean Green battery-electric, 60-inch zero-turn mower used to mow individual properties, and about 5 acres of common land consisting of a central “green”, road sides, in/around a community garden, a few small orchards, and walking paths. After each use, members clean out the grass from inside the mower deck to maintain optimal operating efficiency and cut quality, with access to the deck facilitated by the use of two small auto ramps attached together for both safety and convenience. One community member also volunteers to sharpen the blades after 20-30 hours of use.

The community has found that using an electric mower has:

• Reduced the costs associated with servicing, repair, and fuel by about $1,000 annually compared to their previous gas mower.
• Improved the quality of life since the electric mower is so much quieter.
• Allowed residents to feel good about the fact that their mowing activities are no longer causing air pollution from harmful tail-pipe emissions, are no longer consuming about 100 gallons of fossil fuel annually, and are no longer generating about 2,000 lbs of greenhouse gas emissions associated with burning that fuel.