How Much Money Can I Save by Using Hand Dryers?

Hand dryers have started to become more popular in commercial and industrial locations. Not only are bathroom hand dryers more practical and will help you save money, but you can also cut down the amount of waste you use!

What are the benefits of using electric hand dryers instead of paper towels?

World dryer’s smart hand dryer

Bathroom hand dryers are more economical in comparison to using paper towels. Electric hand dryers allow you to reduce waste and minimize spreading germs because many modern hand dryers are touch-free!

Some hand dryers, such as some from World Dryer, go the extra mile and use an antimicrobial technology to prevent the spread of germs and growth of bacteria!

In addition, a commercial hand dryer has less ongoing expenses. Unlike with paper towels, hand dryers do not require refills or the consistent change of trash bags filled with paper towel waste.

How much power does a hand dryer use?

Most hand dryers use roughly 0.03 kwh (kilo-watt hour) of electricity per use. With the average cost of $.10 per kwh, you would be spending about $14.58 a month.

Using a hand dryer is one of the best ways to save money for your business. With these numbers, you can save more than $60 a month by not using paper towels!

What is the price difference between a hand dryer and paper towels?

Xcelerator hand dryer

In order to find how much money you would be saving by using hand dryers, you would have to determine how often a restroom is being used.

The amount is different for each business, so make sure to break it up like we did above. For example, a medium business uses about 150-200 paper towels a day in addition to maintenance cost and using trash bags for disposal.

The Break Down: Hand Dryers vs Paper Towels

Place Being Used

Uses Per Day

Annual Cost

Return on Investment

Small business office, bistro

50

$855

12 months

Restaurant, chain store

250

$3,917

10 months

School, theater, conference center

500

$7,121

10 months

Stadium, transportation center

1500

$21,378

10 months

Stadium, transportation center

2500

$32,042

8 months

Hand Dryers

Excel hand dryer

Initially, a hand dryer is more expensive, but it will be cheaper in the long run. The initial price is around $450-$500 and the cost of operation depends on the efficiency of a hand dryer in addition to the cost per kilowatt-hour of electricity in your area.

On average, the cost of electric hand dryers is repaid in about 7 months. There are even some bathroom hand dryers that are more energy efficient and could be repaid in less time.

Paper Towels

While the initial cost of a paper towel dispenser is small, roughly $40-$50, they have high ongoing expenses.

The best paper towels are not always the cheapest; so, the price of your paper towels varies based on which brand, size, and quality of paper towel you choose.

The average cost for a 12 pack of 250 paper towels is $75 a month if you use one pack a day. That’s a lot! Most people use about 2 paper towels after they wash their hands, or some people are careless and take more.

Not only that, but sometimes paper towels will drop on the floor, which usually means they will be thrown out and wasted all together.

Are hand dryers LEED certified?

Touch free Stelpro Xcelerator hand dryer

Most of the time, hand dryers have a LEED certification, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. This certification was made as a verification process for the design, construction, and operation of superior green buildings.

What about Green Globes?

The Green Globes rating system is considered the “Practical Building Rating System,” and is sometimes used as a substitute to a LEED certification.  

So, what do I do?

It seems as though the best way to save money, no matter the location, is to switch to using an electric hand dryer. You will be saving more in the long run, and you won’t be producing any waste!

Shop hand dryers from brands such as Excel Hand Dryer, World Dryer, and more at HomElectrical to discover the most economical solution to paper towels!

Recommended Reading

While electric hand dryers require a high initial investment, they save money in the long run! Additionally, they offer a greener way to dry hands.

Cut costs and reduce environmental impact with an XLERATOR hand dryer. These GreenSpec Listed dryers save you up to 95% in drying costs and uses 80% less energy than conventional dryers.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED rates green buildings and ensures they maintain sustainable practices.

The Green Globes rating system can work as a substitute to the LEED certification. Find out the differences between a Green Globes certification and a LEED certification!

Danielle Abram
Danielle Abram

Danielle is a classic wordsmith and unapologetic user of the Oxford comma. Her experience includes blog posts, technical copy, social media copy, email marketing, product descriptions, scripts, and so much more. In other words, there's no limit to what she can write about!

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