What You Should Know About California's Ban on Sales of Gas-Powered Outdoor Tools

The law would also require gas-powered home generators to be emissions-free by 2028. And the timeline for all of the above is subject to review by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which will determine final dates for implementing the new regulations.

Gas-powered outdoor tools can pollute heavily, particularly models with two-stroke engines, which burn a mixture of gasoline and oil. Electric tools, on the other hand, produce no emissions at the point of use. And their performance has improved exponentially over the past decade: “In most of the outdoor power equipment categories we test, we’ve seen that the performance of battery-powered units is on-par with gas—even outperforming them at times,” says Misha Kollontai, CR’s test engineer who oversees outdoor power equipment testing. “Battery charge times are also steadily dropping to very reasonable levels, while run times in many categories more than cover what you need to finish a day’s work.” 

While CR’s testing confirms that in most cases, electric tools present an excellent alternative to traditional gas tools, there are exceptions. As a group, electric pressure washers and snow blowers are not as powerful as gas options. As for generators, portable power stations can provide an emissions-free way to charge a phone or laptop but aren’t a viable alternative to traditional gasoline generators if you need to power essentials like appliances during a power outage. 

Keep in mind that electric lawn tools can be more expensive, but in addition to saving on gas and maintenance in the long run, you can also lower the initial investment by buying tools from a single brand that share a common battery. Below, we’ve highlighted some of the best electric lawn tools from CR’s tests.