Hey everyone,

I'm new to the site and I was hoping that you guys would be able to give me a little feedback. I'm an engineering student at Duke, and for our senior design project, we're working on an electric/solar-powered lawn mower. I was browsing some of the posts, and everyone seems very knowledgeable when it comes to lawnmowers and some of their pros and cons.

Anyway, I was hoping that some of you would be willing to take a short survey for us. I'll post the questions below, but if there's anything that you think would be interesting for us to try engineering, feel free to post that as well. Thanks in advance for all your help!

Survey below:

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1) Do you think that rising gas prices and declining oil supplies will have a serious effect on the economy and on channeling alternative energy research and development in the next 10 years?

a) No effect at all

b) Slight effect only

c) Moderate effect

d) Major effect

2) How many times, on average, do you normally mow your lawn during the peak season?

a) Once every two weeks

b) Once every ten days

c) Once every week

d) More than once a week

3) How long does it normally take you to mow your entire lawn?

a) Less than one hour

b) Between one and two hours

c) Between two and three hours

d) Between three and four hours

e) More than four hours

4) What do you consider the worst part of operating a standard push-lawnmower?

a) The noise

b) Dealing with the grass clippings and flying debris

c) Paying for gasoline

d) General maintenance

e) Air pollution

5) As an observer, what concerns you the most about someone else using a standard push-lawnmower, assuming that the operator will be completely safe?

a) My concerns about what the blade would do to someone else

b) The hazard of flying debris

c) The noise of the lawnmower

d) The environmental impact of the lawnmower

6) Would you be willing to pay an additional amount for a lawnmower that would not cause any particulate or greenhouse gas emissions, as well as nearly eliminating noise pollution?

a) No

b) Yes, less than $50 extra

c) Yes, more than $50, but less than $100 extra

d) Yes, more than $100 but less than $300 extra

e) Yes, more than $300 extra

7) Would you be willing to place a small (4 ft x 4ft x 3 ft), portable shed with solar panels on the roof within your property to charge a solar-powered lawnmower when it is not in use?

a) Yes

b) No

c) Only if the shed were smaller or less intrusive

8) Would you be willing to adjust the solar panels manually to improve their efficiency if instructions were provided?

a) Yes

b) No

9) If so, how frequently would you be willing to adjust the panels?

a) Only once, upon setting up the shed

b) Two to three times a year, to account for variations in the seasonal angle of the sun

c) Once a month, to better adjust the panels depending on foliage changes and sun angle

d) More than once a month

e) Not applicable, as I would not be willing to adjust the panels in the first place

10) Assuming that the solar-powered lawnmower would be priced according to your response in Question #6, how many seasons would you expect the battery to last before having to buy a replacement battery?

a) I would not purchase a solar-powered lawnmower.

b) I would not pay much of a premium for a solar lawnmower, and I would not expect the battery to last more than one year.

c) I would pay only a small premium for a solar lawnmower, and I would expect the battery to last between one and two years.

d) I would pay a moderate premium for a solar lawnmower, and I would expect the battery to last between three and four years.

e) I would pay a high premium for a solar lawnmower, and I would expect the battery to last for more than four years.