James Dyson has done it again and this time he’s invented a hand drier that uses just 15-25% of the electricity of common hand driers, sells for around 20-25% of the price of the current crop and it’s significantly more hygienic into the bargain. Most significantly, it’ll get your hands dry before you die of old age – the Dyson airblade dries hands in about ten seconds which is at least twice as fast as most common hand driers. Hallelujah brothers and sisters – this is one of those inventions that’s been obviously required for a long time. The airblade produces a stream of unheated air flowing at 400mph to do the job.
The Dyson press release reads as follows:
James Dyson said: "Instead of painfully slow evaporation, Dyson Airblade™ creates a high speed sheet of air, the ‘blade’, which gently squeegees your hands dry. It’s very quick and it’s very clean."
Speed: Conventional hand dryers either don’t work or simply take too long. In fact most people give up waiting and wipe damp hands on clothes.
A sheet of air acts like an invisible windscreen wiper to wipe moisture from hands leaving them completely dry.
Hygiene: Electric hand dryers use 60 year old technology that relies on evaporation to dry hands. Washroom air, which contains faecal germs and is laden with bacteria, is heated and blown onto people’s shoes, clothes and freshly washed hands.
People rub their hands together to speed up the lengthy drying process but research proves that this actually draws bacteria from deeper skin layers and fingernails. Most people get frustrated and leave with damp hands.
Damp hands are 1,000 times more likely to cross contaminate than dry hands. Dyson Airblade dries hands completely in just ten seconds.
Dyson Airblade removes bacteria and mould from the air using HEPA filtration. Waste water is passed through an iodine resin filter to disinfect it. And then Piezo crystal technology releases the sterilized water as a harmless invisible mist.
Dyson Airblade has undergone extensive biological and scientific testing by Dyson’s in-house microbiologists, as well as research conducted by Leeds University and Bradford University.
Dyson’s skincare research is also supported by the British Skin Foundation and the Royal Institute of Public Health.
Anna Zilnyk, certification officer, the Royal Institute of Public Health, said: "The Royal Institute of Public Health has reviewed the testing protocols and in particular those from Bradford University. They consider that the hand dryer is a significant step forward in hygienic electrical hand dryer technology."
Energy and cost of ownership: Conventional hand dryers consume a lot of energy and take an eternity to dry hands – if you bother to wait. Dyson Airblade dries hands completely in just ten seconds.
It is powered by Dyson’s long-life, low energy Digital Motor and uses up to 83 per cent less energy compared with conventional hand dryers.
If a UK washroom uses 200 paper towels per day (most people use two at a time), that will cost £951 more to run each year than a washroom with a Dyson Airblade. That’s a 99% saving per washroom per year. So it costs less and it’s better for the environment too.
Dyson Airblade has been trialed in hospitals, restaurants, petrol service stations and other public places. The response has been enthusiastic and Dyson Airblade will be available to buy or lease in the UK and Ireland from November 2006.
Exploring, testing, discovering: At Dyson’s research, design and development labs James Dyson, and his team of 420 engineers and scientists, explore all kinds of ideas and technologies, in addition to vacuum cleaners.
An engineer studying the properties of airflow discovered that by putting his wet hands in front of a high speed sheet of unheated room-temperature air, the force of air removed the water in a matter of seconds.
They were properly dry: not half-damp as they would be after a protracted session with a conventional dryer. It was soon apparent that, if this science was properly applied hand drying could be revolutionised.
Thousands of design hours were spent finding the most aerodynamic and efficient way of driving pressurised air through a finely-engineered aperture of less than 0.3 millimetres. Ergonomically curved to ensure that the whole hand is coated with air (including the fine crevasses between the fingers and backs of hands), this gap – the machine’s ‘blade’ -delivers a curtain of air at a constant, uniform pressure.
Simply put, it’s the first hand dryer that actually works properly. It’s tough and has been put through its paces to make sure it withstands the toughest washroom environment.
The Dyson Digital Motor: The Dyson Digital Motor (DDM) is at the Dyson Airblade’s core. A small, long-life, low-energy and brushless motor spinning at 1,666 revolutions per second, DDM produces enough air pressure for the Dyson Airblade to dry hands without the need for heat.
Buying Dyson Airblade: Dyson Airblade will be sold in the UK for UKP549 (excluding VAT). Machines can be leased directly from Dyson too.
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