Economical Hand Dryers

Sensor-operated hand dryers save energy

Fortunately, technology has moved on from the days of a big push-button on the front of the dryer that activated the airflow for 30-40 seconds. Today, energy-saving, sensor-operated hand dryers are the norm in commercial washrooms. The old, manual units would be activated and the user would walk away after 15 seconds, leaving warm air to continue flowing for another 20 seconds – a huge waste of energy. In other scenarios, hands wouldn’t be dry after the pre-set period, so the dryer would be started again, leaving an inefficient dryer to run for over a minute or kids would love pressing the button and walking away.

A 2.4kw device that operates for 30 seconds longer than it needs to would waste an additional 20 watts of energy.

What qualifies as an energy-efficient hand dryer?

For anything to be energy efficient it must use relatively little energy compared with standard products. When it comes to energy-efficient hand dryers they must:

• Dry quickly
• Have a low-rated power
• Automatic start/stop hand drying

Every extra second a dryer takes to do the job means wasted energy. For example, if you take two models, both have a rated power of 1.5Kw and one dries in 10 seconds and the other in 20 seconds, the first dryer will consume 4.15 watts/hour, and the 2nd will consume 8.3 watts/hour per dry. This can add up over the lifetime of the product.

A unit with a rated power of 2Kw will use twice as much energy while in use as a 1Kw dryer, so it would need to dry twice as fast to consume the same amount of energy. In the past dryers were around 2.4kw rated as standard and took at least 30 seconds to dry. To be termed energy-efficient by the carbon trust, a hand dryer should now be rated at least 1.6kw or lower and dry hands in 15 seconds or quicker. The most energy-efficient models use under 1kw and still have sub-15-second dry times.

Lots of energy is wasted waiting for a manual drying cycle to end, an sensor activated hand dryer that starts/stops as soon as the hands are placed or removed saves lots of unnecessary energy.

Do Eco hand dryers use cold hair?

Most eco hand dryers either have no heater element, like the Dyson dryers, or have a relatively low-consuming and optional heater element like the Bulletdri, Mitsubishi SMART, or Machflow. The breakthrough in efficiency came when motors became much faster and airflow was able to remove moisture rather than needing to evaporate it. Fast motors also generate residual heat meaning heater elements didn’t need to consume so much.

Although heat is less part of the drying process it can still be effective and provide comfort, we have a new model called the Dryflow Viska that is only 1.45kw rated but the heater is responsible for 1.38kw. The Viska dries in 12 seconds so it ticks the boxes for an energy-efficient hand dryer but is also ultra-quiet. 

How much energy does an energy-efficient hand dryer typically use?

Old-fashioned manual push button dryer = 30-40 watts/hours per dry

Traditional dryer with sensor operation = 20 to 25 watts/hours per dry

Dyson Airblade V – 3.3 watt/hours per dry

Mitsubishi SMART – 1.83 watt/hours per dry

The top 5 most energy-efficient hand dryers

• Dryflow EcoSlim hand dryer.

• Mitsubishi Jet Towel Slim hand dryer.

• Turboforce hand dryer.

• Mitsubishi Smart hand dryer.

• Dryflow D-Flow hand dryer.

Read our full blog article for more information on the top 11 most energy-efficient hand dryers

Are Eco Hand Dryers Better for the environment?

Modern, Energy-efficient hand dryers last a long time (sometimes as long as the building itself) and create no waste and few carbon emissions. If you compare them with paper towels then they win hands down! There is no waste, 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. 

The Dryflow range from Intelligent is supported by lifetime FREE repairs, to ensure that customers get their existing units fixed rather than throw away perfectly good products that may just require a little TLC.

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 10 grams/co2 per towel, with 2-3 being used each time. 

Of course, you then need to factor in the co2 created during the production of the hand dryer vs the paper towel dispenser. Hand dryers create anything from 30kg to 100kg of co2 in production and disposal, and paper towel dispensers 5 to 10kg/co2. We normally find that after 3000 to 10000 uses the hand dryer is starting to make large co2 savings vs paper towels.

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. 

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.

Carbon neutral eco hand dryers

We have independently carbon footprinted 11 of our eco hand dryers and we have offset all the emissions created through a verified project. The process is managed by Climate Partner

Save On Electricity Costs

With energy prices seemingly spiraling out of control, it makes commercial sense to install a low-energy model. This will not only save you money on your electricity bills, but it's also better for the environment.

Remember most models we offer are now relatively energy-efficient, if you haven't seen a dryer in this section you like please go to our main electric hand dryer section and filter to your ideal option. Alternatively, use our hand dryers buying guide or call one of our experts on 0114 3540047.