Historically, facilties balked at installing hand dryers in their restrooms because of their price tag, the cost of installation, their noise, their long drying times, as well as the fear of spreading bacteria.

But by installing a high-speed hand dryer, the biggest benefit that customers notice over a traditional hand dryer — other than their significantly faster dry times — is that they use 80 percent less energy. That’s because while conventional units needed special circuitry in the restroom to use, today’s high-speed hand dryers use standard voltages and use minimal electricity — making installation easy for older buildings. Thus, the energy savings translates into roughly a $60 to $80 savings on average a year for facilities.

In fact, a study conducted by a hand dryer manufacturer found that for 1,000 hand dries, a high-speed unit only uses about 50 cents worth of electricity vs. $20 worth of paper.