Not just hot air
July 31st 2007

With 60,000 units sold globally last year, the company claims its 650 Watt Jet Towel dryer is the quietest, most energy efficient – and therefore cost effective – on the market.

Mitsubishi launched its first generation cold air dryer in 1993. Since then, it has sold 400,000 units in 17 different countries, predominantly across Asian markets. Now, with other producers opening up the local market, the company is rolling out its seventh generation model in the UK.

Although it retails at significantly more than a standard hot air dryer, according to channel manager, Peter Maye, the running costs are around 10 per cent of a standard dryer. Moreover, presuming two paper towels are needed to dry hands thoroughly, he claims it is 100 times cheaper in operation than paper towels when operating in cold air mode.As the new model also has a storage heating unit (for applications such as food processing where ambient temperatures can be around 5°C, and so leave hands still feeling damp) those economies are lessened to a degree. But Maye claims that, even with the pulsed storage heater always switched on, the Jet Towel still averages around a kilowatt in consumption,"which is still lower than anything else on the market".

It achieves such economy via a highly efficient electric motor, based on those used to cool laptops, and its patented dual air jet nozzles, the design of which means the air blades only need 180mph maximum speed to dry hands in 10 seconds.This relatively low air speed enables the use of such a small motor, and facilitates the low energy consumption and low noise (59dB) that Maye says is its major selling point.The motor is also rated to 3,600 working hours.

Maye says the unit is also antimicrobial "all the way through, as opposed to a coating."This, he says, means the Jet Towel will not harbour bacteria if the surface is scratched.

Maintenance is straightforward - cleaners simply pull out the antimicrobial air intake filters around once every three months, emptying them either into a bin or vacuuming them. The enclosed (and therefore anti-splash) drain tanks, which Maye says are equally easy to remove,"won't fill for months", but he suggests cleaners empty them once a week and clean out the lipid residue that is blown off hands along with the water.

With several high speed cold air dryers now available in the UK, Maye says major contractors and specifiers, who were initially sceptical, are now beginning to take serious interest due to increasing emphasis on corporate social responsibility obligations, increasing energy bills and the desire to reduce carbon footprints. He says those with high traffic washrooms can make a considerable reduction in the carbon footprint of their building – and save tens of thousands of pounds in the process.

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