Feature

Lawn Care Professionals Finding New Options for Getting the Job Done:

Patent-pending Solution Developed on University of Tennessee-Knoxville Campus

Challenges abound for lawn care professionals now, from staffing shortages to fuel costs to unique demands of clients with remote or rugged properties. Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine even boosted a benchmark for fuel costs, Brent Crude Oil, to a 7-year-high. Plus, more stringent environmental rules and requests for quieter lawn care tools are inspiring demand for alternatives to traditional gasoline-powered mowers. Business forecasters are showing even more growth ahead in demand for electric mowers. Arizton Advisory & Intelligence reported robotic mowers are expected to grow at a rate of nearly 16 percent between 2019 and 2025. The Powershed charging concept is designed to power current and future generations of robotic mowers.

One of the first Powershed units installed for experimental use on the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture campus

On the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, one lawn care professional’s challenge inspired an industrialgrade solution. Matthew Layne’s role as Turf Manager was part of his responsibility for more than 900 acres of property. He recognized that certain areas needed to meet expectations for staying manicured, although they were not necessarily easy for his staff to reach with a typical mowing device. He also had a lack of available electrical outlets in that area. Vice President of UT Research Foundation’s Multi-Campus Office Maha Krishnamurthy Ph.D., MBA said, “Our UT innovator Matthew Layne wanted to solve an increasingly difficult maintenance challenge: one area of the university’s campus was so tough to access that his staff had to scale down a wall holding weed eaters to maintain it – a time-consuming approach. A lack of available outlets in that area and his desire for a sustainable solution to this problem led Matthew and UTRF to search for a commercial partner to co-develop Matthew’s innovation about solar charging stations, specifically for small robotic mowers.”

Remote setting for Powershed on the driving range of UT golf facilities

Layne began reaching out in late 2019 to Knoxville-area solar companies to find a partner for his vision of powering mowers with a standalone photovoltaic device. He connected with General Manager Jon Hamilton and Vice President Harvey Abouelata at Solar Alliance. The group of inventors also found an ally in the University of Tennessee Research Foundation. By 2020, UTRF filed a provisional patent application with the US Patent Office on behalf of Powershed. That fall, Solar Alliance signed a commercial license agreement UTRF to develop and eventually sell the heavy-duty solar charging stations. The patent offers intellectual property protection pending an awarded patent.

Powershed is a uniquely designed system that provides housing and charging for robotic mowers while harnessing power from the sun and including battery power storage. It incorporates CAT photovoltaic panels. Powershed has been tested for more than a year at various sites on the UT Knoxville Campus. The system has been used as a single module with panels providing 440 watts of power, as well as a double module whose panels deliver 880 watts. A 400 Ah battery is included for power storage. The single module supports a mowing range of approximately two acres, while the double module supports up to six acres of mowing. The system has a web-based monitoring platform and is Bluetooth, Wifi and LTE-enabled. Experimental use of the Powershed on campus has recently been with Husqvarna, ECHO Robotics and Ambrogio mowers. With an estimated 50-million acres of turfgrass in the United States, the President of the National Turfgrass Federation called turf the nation’s fourth largest crop in terms of acreage.

This puts big demands on the lawn care professionals tasked with caring for grounds in residential and commercial settings. Without a tool like Powershed, running electric mowers in more remote areas could involve laying surface cords or installing costly underground conductors and outdoor receptables throughout a property.

A double Powershed Cicada II module has recently been installed for commercial use in St. Augustine, Florida. St. Augustine landscaping company owner Jason Baker said, “Providing services with maximum productivity these days requires the latest tools. When Powershed and ECHO Robotics go to work for us, our people can be solving another landscaping challenge somewhere else.” Demand for self-contained power systems is not limited to the landscaping industry and spans a variety of trades. According to John Reynolds at Flagler Power Equipment, “The customers drive what we carry at our dealership and our clients are moving toward more electric power tools. We need the flexibility and independence that Powershed affords us. I think it’s going to be more popular as more people can see how much it saves them potentially in time and money.”

ECHO Inc. Vice President of Robotics, Benjamin Houssa explained, “The demand for professional landscaping services is constantly growing, with humongous acres of turf grass in the United States. ECHO Robotics is pleased to see the Powershed advantage for landscapers who need off-grid solutions to mowing challenges involving labor and location. Powershed untethers our market for more environment-friendly and sustainable sites. It also drives more opportunities for ECHO Robotics applications.”

Powershed is designed to coordinate with any brand of robotic mower, providing a combination of weather-resistant storage plus overall capacity to meet commercial-scale needs. It is constructed of aluminum and high density polyetheylene (HDPE) plastic. The AC outlet provides a way to charge batteries or other equipment directly from the unit. The sleek design can be incorporated in plain view. In addition to powering lawn mowers, the system could potentially power other outdoor equipment such as lighting in remote areas. It offers an alternative when there is a lack of employees or a security need to minimize numbers of people in a certain area of a campus.

“We are really excited about all the possibilities for Powershed! The more we talk to people, the more applications we realize there are for Powershed. If you have a campus that requires special security and limits to people, if you need landscape lighting in remote areas, the list goes on. As people make the decision move away from fossil fuels, Powershed offers a path,” said Harvey Abouelata, Vice President of Solar Alliance.

Cicada II double module installed for commercial use in St. Augustine, Florida

Krishnamurthy said, “UTRF is proud to partner with forward-thinking local partners, like Solar Alliance, to advance UT’s innovative solutions to the market. In spite of the pandemic, Solar Alliance is achieving our diligence milestones. With growing customer demand for sustainable solutions, Powershed will continue to gain momentum.”

About the University of Tennessee Research Foundation: UT Research Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Per its website, it “promotes the commercialization of UT intellectual property, encourages an entrepreneurial culture, contributes to state and regional economic development, and promotes research and education to benefit the people of Tennessee and beyond... UTRF works to help move ideas to the marketplace.”

About Solar Alliance: Solar Alliance provides skilled East Tennessee jobs while leading the way in commercial and residential installations and related energy monitoring. The Company is currently collaborating with Knoxville Utilities Board to build the city’s first Community Solar project in 2022. Solar Alliance also deploys chargers for homes and businesses in support of electrification and the growing need for electric vehicles. Solar Alliance operates in Tennessee, Kentucky, North/South Carolina and Illinois with an expanding pipeline of solar projects. Since its founding in 2003, the Company has developed $1 billion of renewable energy projects that provide enough electricity to power 150,000 homes.

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LINKS

https://utrf.tennessee.edu/

https://www.solaralliance.com/our-projects/powershed/

https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=TN

https://www.arizton.com/news/press-release/global-robotic-lawn-mower-market-size

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