(ABC 6 News) – Fresh from their mower testing field in Florida, CR’s testers are ready to share this year’s top performers.

And they are happy to announce that battery-powered mowers and other lawn tools have been getting better and better when it comes to performance!

“For years we’ve been seeing the performance of battery mowers improve and this year was no exception but they’re just strong performers they’re also better for the earth and your neighbors will thank you since they tend to be quieter, too,” says Consumer Reports’ Paul Hope.

Every winter, CR’s lawn mower testing team heads to Florida where they walk, push, mow, and ride, on acres of grass to get a feel for how well each machine runs, handles, and performs.

Testers check for cutting evenness and mulching and of course battery power.

“You want a battery mower with a run time of at least about thirty minutes because that’s enough to cut a quarter-acre yard on a single charge. You can also buy additional tools like a string trimmer, or a hedge trimmer or even a leaf blower from the brand and use the battery interchangeably,” says Hope.

As performance gets better, prices are more in line with gasoline mowers. The recommended Ryboi offers nearly the same cutting performance as the top-performing gasoline model and actually costs hundreds less!

You can get the most value from your mower if you’re willing to do the pushing. The Skil is a budget-friendly choice and offers excellent mulching, evenness and handling, and very good run time.

If you do have lots of ground to cover, ride-on mowers are ideal.

The recommended Cub Cadet didn’t run as long as the top performers in CR’s tests, however it offers excellent mulching and very good handling and evenness. And for thousands less, it’s a great value!

For larger lawns, CR says you may want to consider a zero-turn-radius mower or ZTR. They come with a learning curve because you operate and steer with levers instead of a steering wheel, but they are faster and can maneuver around obstacles like trees on your property.