I’m ambivalent about this. On the one hand they are LOUD as hell, but the electrics just don’t blow as good. The gas powered blowers just work better, especially for large jobs.
"A single two-stroke engine produces pollution equivalent to that of 30 to 50 four-stroke automobiles. "
https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/two-strokes-and...
I used to begrudgingly use expensive four-stroke tools because they were less irritating than two-stroke and electrics weren't up to snuff, but more recently I've replaced everything but a leaf mulcher with cordless electric and I'm really happy with them. I'll probably replace the mulcher eventually as well, I don't doubt that the cordless equipment can deliver, it's just that it still works and where I use it trailing an extension cord is fine.
Comparing the commercial EGO systems to the commercial Husqvarna systems, both produce ~600cfm of air movement in a backpack system. The battery life on the EGO systems is sufficient (60 min+ runtime peer battery, in my experience, more than enough for several large yards during mowing season).
Yes, a landscape crew would need to carry several spare batteries per electric device, likely with some sort of charging station on the truck. Expensive up front costs, no question. But, probably worth it in the long run for emissions and nuisance gains.
If you're comparing a commercial backpack to a consumer-grade handheld, sure, big difference. But, that's apples and oranges.
So, we have an electric one for that, and for various other tasks, like clearing our steep driveway of debris that makes it difficult to receive deliveries or get our cars up. Blowing takes 30 seconds, where sweeping would take 5 minutes.
120 volts at 10 amps is kind of tepid, when compared against a combustion engine, and typical for the US
Since I also have the Ego mower & weedwhacker, I have 3 batteries to swap through, but it is a pain during fall cleanup.
Absolutely no good for commercial or big jobs though.
I have no reservation about saying that the societal good far outweighs the bad.
This corrects this imbalanced market where 99% of stakeholders are held captive by old, polluting, loud, ultra-obnoxious, all-downsides-heavily-externalized persistent disturbances. Mandating electric options was evidently what it's going to take to get any change, to start to do the right thing.
The market, now that it was to do the right thing, can begin to adjust it's approach as to how it wants to do the right thing. It can improve it's designs, &c.