Given the name of the product, it would be easy to assume that eco hand dryers are the greener option for any business. However, we know what they say about assuming… and as experts in hand dryers we wanted to take a real deep dive into how economically and environmentally friendly eco hand dryers actually are.
How long do eco hand dryers last?
There is an emerging culture of disposable products that are manufactured so cheaply that they are easy to replace when they inevitably fail. This, for obvious reasons, is terrible for the environment and flies in the face of sustainability.
Modern, energy-efficient hand dryers last a long time (sometimes as long as the building itself) and create no waste and few carbon emissions. The Dryflow Hand Dryer range from Intelligent is supported by free lifetime repairs to ensure that customers get their existing units fixed rather than throw away perfectly good products that may just require a little TLC.
Hand dryers vs paper towels
When compared with paper towels, hand dryers win hands down! There is no waste generated, no overflowing bins that require plastic bin bags and disposal into landfill or incineration. The eco hand dryer is estimated to create 95% lower carbon emissions than towels, making it an eco-friendly, zero-waste choice.
According to Mike Berners-Lee, the UK’s leading expert on carbon accounting, a Dyson Airblade ab14 creates 2 grams/co2 per dry vs a hand towel at 10 grams/co2 per towel (with 2-3 being used each dry.)
You can read more about paper towel usage in our article 7 things you may not have known about paper hand towels.
End to end production
To be a true ‘Eco’ hand dryer it needs to be more than just energy-efficient. Eco dryers need to last a long time so they don’t constantly need new parts or the whole dryer replaced. Also, there is a carbon footprint attached to the raw materials, manufacturing, and transportation process so good quality means ‘eco’ over the long term.
Hand dryers create anything from 30kg to 100kg of co2 in the production and disposal process, compared with paper towel dispensers 5 to 10kg/co2. So, there is a large discrepancy here, but we normally find that after 3000 to 10000 uses the hand dryer is starting to make large co2 savings vs paper towels.
An eco-hand dryer needs to use recycled material or alternative low-carbon materials in its construction, this limits the overall carbon footprint of the product. It needs to be readily recyclable and the supplier offers a route to return the product. Intelligent offers industry-leading warranties, a buy-back scheme, and a promise to reuse or recycle every part of the product possible.
Compared to old hand dryers, most modern hand dryers could be considered ‘eco’ as they rely on powerful air flow to blow dry the hands, rather than hot air to evaporate the moisture. This means energy efficient motors vs energy thirsty heating elements and much shorter drying times.
Looking for your perfect eco hand dryer – call our customer service team. They are product experts and are happy to talk through your options. Just call us on 0114 3540047 or contact us here.
