Battery Technology One Year On
It has now been a year since our big push to take advantage of new battery technologies and upgrade our battery range so that they are a viable option for our customers. It hasn’t been easy but this year has solidified our thinking that our battery range offers people a practical alternative to their fossil fuelled pressure washers. We have discussed our battery range with just about anyone who would listen and taken on board a lot of feedback on our machines and information about how battery machines are being received in the industrial market.
INDUSTRY TO INDUSTRY
The battery revolution is not happening everywhere and all at once, different industries are on different timelines regarding adopting carbon free practices.
The hire industry, for the most part, seem to be sticking with their traditional fossil fuelled powered pressure washers for the time being. There is a lot of talk and interest in our battery range but not a massive commitment to shifting to carbon free cleaning just yet. However, this is understandable, for the simple reason that their customers are not asking for it. Supply and demand dictate the industry and as of yet the end users hiring the equipment for building sites or domestic use do not need or want to pay the extra cost of a battery pressure washers.
The facilities management industry, on the other hand, are most certainly experiencing a demand from their customers for zero emission cleaning. Their clients include organisations like city councils and shopping centres, who are cleaning in areas that have a heavy footfall from the public so require zero emission, quiet cleaning. This industry has now moved from interest to purchases and our battery machines sales are picking up month by month.
COST IS EVERYTHING
We all know by now that battery technology comes at a cost and when exhibiting with our battery range people do get a bit hot under the collar about the cost of our battery Mini-Bowser compared to its fossil fuelled powered equivalent. However, the initial purchase cost is only a fraction of what a battery machine can save customers over a 10 year period because of the batteries life span. The savings not only on fuel and servicing costs but also on not having to replace the machine every 3-5 years, as is common in the hire industry, can save customers nearly 64% over a 10-year period compared to owning a petrol Mini-Bowser.
CHANGE OF HABITS
For battery machinery to work and become the norm in the industrial sector habits must change. To get the most out of battery machinery when they are being used heavily on commercial sites, the users need to get into the habit of putting the machine on charge when it is not in use, for example on tea/coffee and lunch breaks. If you had an electric vehicle and drove to the supermarket, once there you would put it on charge whilst doing your shopping, the concept for battery industrial machinery is the same.
As we progress further through 2023 we are continuingly upgrading and moving forward with our battery range, testing higher amp/hour batteries as they come to market and assessing how our machines can evolve. With some great enquiries now turning into sales we are looking forward to the rest of the year and seeing where it takes us.
