#electric-lawn-tools

#electric-lawn-tools

"We want to make the Graham Norton of video games," says Kirsty Rigden, the chief executive of Brighton-based FuturLab, which makes PowerWash Simulator. Aspiring to emulate a talkshow host who has a reputation for being affable rather than for setting pulses racing is perhaps an unusual ambition for a gaming studio.

The fix, he told me, was temporary - he didn't have the right part and couldn't get it. This experience revealed a broader shift in how modern products are designed, sold, and owned - one that increasingly treats repair as optional and replacement as inevitable.

"If you're on the water, all you hear is the wind and the waves. And if you're on the snow, you hardly hear anything-just that track spinning through the snow at incredible speeds," says Taiga Motors cofounder and CEO Sam Bruneau.

The sale officially ends tonight, but there are still several robot vacuums on sale, including top-end models from brands like Ecovacs, Dreame, Roborock, and more.

The BlastBoss is designed for both outdoor and indoor use alongside three included attachments, making it versatile for various cleaning tasks.

One of the weird quirks of working from home and owning a lot of cars is that I might go a month or a few between driving a specific vehicle. This is especially true in the winter, when I just won't drive my favorite cars at all to keep them out of the road salt. Many of my vehicles don't have the privilege of sipping from a battery tender. Yet, when I'm ready, the cars fire up when it's time to drive.

Appliance power mapping means measuring each appliance's actual electricity consumption rather than relying on manufacturer estimates. Using tools like plug-in electricity monitors (such as a Kill-A-Watt meter) or whole-house energy monitors (like Sense or Emporia Vue), you collect real data on how much electricity each device draws-while running, in standby, and when nominally "off."

Never place batteries of any type in your curbside recycling bin. Batteries can damage recycling equipment and, if lithium batteries are mixed in, cause fires. Always use designated battery collection programs.

The Clean+Wash Hygiene tweaks the way debris is collected. It still has a dirty-water tank and a debris tray, but it keeps both in the head of the device rather than cycling dirty water back up into a separate tank on the cleaner. Disposal looks similar to the old device, with the user still needing to empty both the dirty water and the debris tray, but removal of these items can happen at the same time.

I came out here and I found the Coco in my garden. It had got my fence caught up in its wheel. It uprooted a whole bunch of [plants] in my garden and then just drove away with the fence attached to it.

In an aquatic world dominated by robotic pool cleaners that mostly look identical, a company called iGarden has been that breath of fresh air you take after reaching the water's surface. The company's pool cleaners have always featured designs that feel inspired more by high-end automobiles than underwater janitors, and with the new M1 series, its gear is sportier than ever.

Whether you're whipping up a labor-intensive meal or are working from home at a stand-up desk, these cushioned floor mats are about to make your legs and back so much happier. They're made with memory foam and supportive padding to help ease pressure on your joints as you stand. They're also waterproof to stand up to spills and splashes, and come in a variety of colors and sizes to suit your space.

With costs climbing across the US, energy prices stand out, made worse by record-breaking summer heat and recent waves of scorching temperatures that have affected multiple states. Having endured several of them this season, I'm always looking for ways to reduce energy use. There are many small things you can do to shave dollars off your monthly energy bill, and they go beyond simply switching off the lights when you leave the room.

Try as we might, it's not always easy to keep up with it all, and sometimes, it can be a challenge to give everything the attention it deserves. In our new Shifting Gear series (see what we did there?), we'll be highlighting products that have just arrived, we're excited to try out, or that we're particularly stoked to tell you about but haven't had a chance to review yet.

The Roborock RockMow X1 LiDAR, announced today at CES, will be launching later this year, featuring autonomous navigation, all-wheel drive, and 360-degree 3D scanning using a combination of LiDAR and Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (VSLAM). Like the earlier RockMow Z1, the RockMow X1 LiDAR can handle slopes of up to 80 percent and traverse obstacles up to 3.1 inches high.

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are found in many devices we use every day, like smartphones, laptops, tablets, wireless earbuds, power tools, e-bikes, and electric vehicles. By 2023, there were more than 40 million electric vehicles on the road worldwide, and billions of portable electronics used Li-ion cells. These batteries are valuable for recycling, but they can be dangerous if not disposed of correctly.

They do nothing to save you power Scam "power saving" devices are rampant online. These devices plug into an outlet and promise to "improve the use of energy," "extend the life of electrical equipment," and even "avoid illegal electrical waste." Sounds great, right? Also: This USB power meter I tested is shockingly accurate - especially for how cheap it is Well, despite the bold claims and the sticker on the front of the unit, they are too good to be true.

Living in Cleveland, winters can be brutal with lake-effect snow and frigid temperatures. So in the winter of 2021, I bought myself a two-stage snow thrower. The model did a great job until I pulled it out of the shed to prep for a recent storm...and it wouldn't start. I struggled mightily with the pull cord before remembering it had an electric start.

Enter the LeafyPod, a self-watering smart planter that utilizes AI to understand your leafy companions, and keep them well cared for. The system is simple: a connected app monitors hydration and nutrient levels, noting what's best for that specific type of plant. Recently named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2025, the hydroponic system allows users to grow herbs, greens, or flowers all year long. LeafyPod is adaptive, responding to plant health and to changes in environment.

All of the appliances and systems are brand-new: the HVAC, the lighting, the entertainment. Touch screens of various shapes and sizes control this, that, and the other. Rows of programmable buttons sit where traditional light switches would normally be. The kitchen even has outlets designed to rise up from the countertop when you need them, and slide away when you don't.

A two-stage machine uses two types of augers to handle snow -- a main auger to break up and gather, and a secondary screw that throws snow to the side. These blowers are the most popular choice, as they can handle almost any driveway length and deep or heavy snow. They're also relatively affordable, with 24-inch models often costing under $1,000.