Aspirus uses autonomous lawnmowers to promote sustainability | Press room

Aspirus Health recently introduced autonomous lawn mowers at six locations in its system to support its environmental sustainability efforts. These battery-powered, self-driving mowers are controlled via an app and run on electricity instead of gasoline.

“We are always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and positively contribute to the health of our environment and the communities and patients we serve,” said Andrew Miller, Director of System Facilities Management and Security at Aspirus Health. “Switching from gasoline-powered lawn mowers to these autonomous lawn mowers at sites that can currently support this technology was an easy decision. These autonomous lawn mowers help reduce the environmental impact of our lawn care operations and provide greater value to our landscape operations and campuses.”

Autonomous lawn mowers are currently in use at the following Aspirus Health locations:

• Aspirus Wausau Hospital
• Headquarters of Aspirus Inc. (Wausau, Wisconsin)
• Aspirus Divine Savior Hospital (Portage, Wisconsin)
• Aspirus Merrill Hospital
• Aspirus Rhinelander Hospital
• Aspirus Tomahawk Hospital

The rollout of the mowers was completed in July. The autonomous mowers use navigation technology, sensors and programming to move around lawns, cut the grass at the desired height and pattern and return to a docking station to recharge. They can be used rain or shine, day or night.

To support the initiative and minimize electricity consumption and costs, maintenance teams at Aspirus Inc.’s corporate headquarters built solar charging stations for the lawn mowers.

“The mowers have performed well and we have kept them running despite the recent rains,” said Miller. “The mowers are also well received by our patients and staff.”

The benefits of autonomous lawn mowers go far beyond simply entertaining spectators. The autonomous lawn mowers reduce air pollution and noise levels. Unlike petrol-powered lawn mowers, which emit pollutants and greenhouse gases, they do not produce any direct emissions during operation. They are also virtually silent, which drastically reduces noise pollution.

Other advantages of autonomous mowers are:

• Electric motors that are more efficient than combustion engines and require less energy and maintenance to operate.
• Lightweight bodies that do not compact the soil, allowing the soil to absorb more water and less rainwater to run off.
• Sharp blades that cut the grass cleanly, working it back into the soil and minimizing the need for fertilizers and chemicals.

“These autonomous mowers not only help reduce our carbon footprint, they also create greater efficiency in our grounds and landscaping teams, make landscaping more cost-effective, enhance the appearance of our campus grounds, and allow maintenance personnel who also perform grounds maintenance to focus more on critical assets and preventative maintenance programs in our facilities,” Miller said.

Aspirus Health purchased the autonomous mowers locally from Power House Lawn & Leisure in Merrill, Wisconsin. “We appreciate the collaboration with this local, central Wisconsin company to make our autonomous mower initiative a reality,” said Miller. “We are grateful to have them as such a great partner to us.”

There are plans to introduce autonomous lawn mowers at other Aspirus Health locations in the future.