Fast air drying saves time and energy

Tom Shelley reports on a simple way of saving money in the washroom and in a wide range of processes By delivering drying air at 96.5m/s at the outlet, still 81m/s100mm below, it is possible to dry hands in 10 to 15 seconds using a total power consumption of only 1.4kW instead of 2.3kW for a conventional hot air dryer. This is because while ambient air has less capacity to take up moisture per cubic metre than hot air, it requires less energy to deliver more of it from a fan than it does to increase its capacity by heating it up. While this should come as no surprise to the traditional housewife, who knows that a windy day is better for drying clothes than a hot, still one, it is something of a revolution in power dryer design. The US maker, Excel Dryer in Massachusetts, says that it undertook two years of research before coming up with the patented technology used in the 'Xlerator'. It still has a 900W nichrome wire heater, but it also has a 5/8 HP 20,000 rpm blower motor. Because it dries quicker and uses less power, the makers make the not unreasonable claim that it uses 80 per cent less energy than a conventional dryer, and achieves 95 cost savings relative to paper towels. The dryers are available in the UK from Excel Dryer (UK) based in Harrogate. Excel Dryer (UK)