Understanding the difference between traditional hand dryers and modern jet hand dryers will help you decide which is best for your workplace.

In recent years we have seen major changes in the design and functionality of hand dryers as they become more efficient. Blade style hand dryers which use a jet of fast-moving air rather than a conventional heater have become much more popular because they are quieter, faster, and much more efficient. Mitsubishi Electric pioneered the development of jet hand dryers with innovation in the design and functionality.

How do Jet Hand Dryers Work

Old fashioned warm air hand dryers use an electric fan and heating element to dry the user’s hands. Air is drawn into the hand dryer through ventilation slots in the sides and then blown slowly over the heater to warm it before exiting the dryer through a wide nozzle. The user rubs their hands together in the airflow to spread droplets of water across their skin so that it can evaporate. This process is usually manually operated and takes between 30 seconds and a minute depending on the power of the hand dryer.

Jet hand dryers use an entirely different principle to work. Rather than relying on slow evaporation of moisture from the skin, the droplets of water are blown away by fast moving air.

Jet hand dryers such as the Mitsubishi Electric Wave u01 draw air in through Viraguard filters that remove germs and other particles from the air and then a high-speed fan accelerates the air through the internal ducting of the dryer and out through a slot like nozzle. The result of the internal aerodynamics of the hand dryer is that the air is moving at high speed when it leaves and is easily able to blow the water droplets away. Jet hand dryers do not require a heater to warm the air and work automatically when the user places their hands into the drying area.

Advantages of Jet Hand Dryers

The biggest advantage of a jet hand dryer is that the process is much more efficient. Rather than wasting electricity to heat the air and needing to run for extended periods of time, a jet hand dryer completes the process in around 10 seconds and uses approximately one third of the electricity of a conventional model.

A further advantage of jet hand dryers is that they are much quieter in use. The wide nozzles on old fashioned warm air hand dryers create a very turbulent airflow that carries the noise of the fan and motor into the surrounding area. Some models will generate as much noise as heavy traffic which can be uncomfortable for users – particularly children. The narrow slot on a jet hand dryer and the faster moving air is much less choppy, and as a result, far less noise escapes. In fact, efficient jet hand dryers such as the Mitsubishi Electric Wave u02 are comparable with a quiet conversation in terms of the amount of sound they generate.

Learn More

For more information about how a choosing a modern jet hand dryer from the Mitsubishi Electric Wave range could help you reduce your energy consumption and improve hygiene, please contact us today to request a demonstration or download our brochures