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High Speed Hand Dryers

Today's hand dryers are MUCH faster than previous generations, with the quickest drying hands as fast as 8 seconds! (See the XLERATOR by Excel Dryer.) And while the difference between 30 seconds (the slower hand dryers) and less than 10 seconds may not seem like a big deal, studies have shown that among those who prefer not to use hand dryers, the number one reason is that they take too long. And for busy restrooms, this can be even more important.

So, in general, we always recommend a high speed hand dryer first. And coincidentally, because they operate for less time, they tend to be much more efficient.

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High Efficiency Hand Dryers

Another important feature, with today's focus on environmental awareness, is energy efficiency. This is a great opportunity to let your guests know that you are "green-minded." Because of this, some dryers even come with placards explaining the benefits of hand dryers and how much energy and paper waste are saved.

As discussed above, one component of energy use is, of course, how long the dryer is operating. The shorter the time the dryer is turned on, the less energy it uses.

There is, however, an even bigger factor that influences energy consumed. The heating element. In almost all cases, uses the majority of the energy used by a hand dryer will be the heating element (unless there isn't one!).

Some heated dryers, therefore, are also equipped with adjustable heat to address this. When the heat is turned down, or even off, they use much less energy (See the SMARTdri by World Dryer.)

A common miss-conception is that heat also helps to dry hands more quickly. In fact, testing shows that heat has very little affect on dry time. Some of the fastest dryers have no heating element at all! (See Dyson hand dryers and the XLERATOReco by Excel Dryer.)

This isn't to say that heat has no benefit. A warm air dryer can be more comfortable to use, especially in cold climates and during the fall and winter. Don't underestimate the importance of comfort to your guests!

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Noise Level

At this point, you may be saying to yourself, "Well that's easy. I just need a high speed hand dryer with an adjustable heating element."

There is, unfortunately, one significant drawback to some high speed hand dryers. And that is N O I S E. Bathrooms tend to be small, enclosed areas, frequently with tile on the floor and walls. This creates the perfect environment to echo and amplify sound. So noise level (usually reported as Decibels) can be another important factor. Because of this, many dryer manufacturers publish (and advertise) the operating sound level of their dryers.

But the story doesn't end there. As with many features, there is no universal (standard) methodology for measuring noise level. For instance, how close was the microphone to the dryer. Was it above, below, or right at the nozzle. Were the dryers activated electronically, or by placing hands under the dryer. How close were the hands held to the dryer. All these things can dramatically affect results. And lastly, the results are almost always self-reported, and so have to be taken with a grain of salt.

So how can dryers be compared? The easiest way is to find one in use and try it out. But this is often not practical. To help with this, we will periodically test a series of hand dryers and create a video of each. THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE A SCIENTIFICALLY SOUND EXPERIMENT! We just try to get a ballpark "apples to apples" comparison and give some general commentary.
You can find these videos on our Hand Dryer Demonstration Videos page .

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Design

Hand dryers come in a wide variety of formats. Here are some aspects you will want to consider:

Mount Type

Footprint

Cover