Does Higher Voltage Mean More Power for Your Lawn Care Equipment?

What’s going on, everyone? Vince Delongini here—2022 User Advisory Group member for Echo Means Business.

Battery-powered lawn equipment is making a real impact on the industry. More and more professionals are making the switch from gas to battery, and many equipment manufacturers are stepping up to meet that demand.

I had the opportunity to visit Echo headquarters and attend a fantastic presentation by Jason Wilk, a product manager at Echo. I’d like to share some battery fundamentals I learned from that session, in hopes it’ll help you when deciding on the best platform for your business.

It all starts with this cell right here—this is an 18650 lithium-ion cell. This cell is the building block of battery packs used in today’s hand tools, electric vehicles, and now, lawn equipment.

Smaller battery packs—like the ones used in drills—typically contain just five of these cells. But larger packs, like this one used in lawn equipment, might use 14 or more. How those cells are configured determines things like voltage and capacity—and I’ll come back to that in a moment.

But first, let’s clear up a common misconception—and this is the main reason I’m making this video:

Voltage is just one variable in the equation that determines power. Just because a system runs on 80 volts doesn’t mean it has more power than a 56-volt system. In fact, a 56-volt system can deliver the same—or even more—power than an 80-volt one, depending on the motor and the technology behind it.

Here’s the actual equation:

Power = Voltage × Current, minus the effects of motor efficiency and the total load.

And it’s the motor efficiency that really drives this equation.

Let’s talk about motors, since that’s what the voltage is powering.

There are essentially two types of motors: brushed and brushless.

A brushed motor is simple in design, but not very efficient due to friction and resistance caused by the brushes. These also wear down over time, requiring more maintenance—and more voltage—to perform.

A brushless motor is more complex, but significantly more efficient. It requires less voltage to run and is virtually maintenance-free.

Other design elements to consider include:

• Whether the motor uses an inner or outer rotor
• The type of winding material
• The type of magnets used

All of these impact the motor’s efficiency—and ultimately, the power that reaches the end of your trimmer, blower, or chainsaw.

Now, let’s circle back to voltage and capacity.

The best way to explain the difference—and electricity in general—is through the water tank analogy:

• The amount of water in the tank = Total charge (Amp-hours)
• The pressure at the outlet = Voltage
• The flow at the outlet = Current (Amps)

Battery cells can be configured in different ways to alter voltage and capacity:

• Connecting cells in series increases voltage
• Connecting them in parallel increases capacity

Each 18650 cell has:

• A maximum voltage of 4.2 volts
• A cutoff minimum of 3 volts
• A nominal (average) voltage of around 3.6 volts

Manufacturers base their voltage ratings on this range. For example, this Echo 56V eFORCE battery uses 14 cells at around 4 volts each. Multiply that out, and you get 56 volts.

Want another example?

Both DeWalt 20V and Milwaukee 18V batteries have five cells. DeWalt markets their batteries based on the 4V maximum per cell. Milwaukee, on the other hand, uses the 3.6V nominal value. Same battery—just marketed differently.

So why do manufacturers choose certain voltage ratings? Well, it’s both a technical and marketing challenge.

Technically, it’s about balancing:

• Power needs
• Motor demand
• Runtime
• Weight and ergonomics (especially for handheld tools)
• Charging speed

From a marketing standpoint, let’s be honest—"100 volts" sounds better than "18 volts." But now you know that’s not the full story.