If the electricity cost is 30 pence per kilowatt-hour (p/kWh), you can calculate the cost of running a hand dryer in the UK by following the steps outlined below. Assuming the hand dryer has a power rating of 1.5 kilowatts (kW) and operates for 1 hour per day, the calculation would be as follows:
Energy consumption per hour = 1.5 kW = 1.5 kWh
Operating time per day = 1 hour
Electricity cost per kWh = 30 pence = £0.30
Daily cost = Energy consumption per hour (kWh) * Operating time per day (hours) * Electricity cost per kWh
Daily cost = 1.5 kWh * 1 hour * £0.30/kWh = £0.45
Cost per dry = Energy consumption per hour (kWh) * Average drying time (seconds) * Electricity cost per kWh / 3600
1.5 kWh * 15 Seconds * £0.30/kWh /3600 = £0.001875 i.e. 5 people drying their hands costs less than 1p
This calculation indicates that it would cost approximately £0.45 per day to run the hand dryer for one hour in the UK, assuming an electricity cost of 30 pence per kilowatt-hour. You can further multiply this by the number of days the hand dryer is in use to get an estimate for the monthly or yearly cost.
Hand dryers typicall require very little service costs. Over the years, they may require a bit of cleaning and the odd repair to keep them running at their best. The cost of running a hand dryer therefore needs to factor in these costs.
The best way to keep hand dryers working smoothly is to clean them regularly, to stop dust or debris clogging up the air filters and mechanism which may cuase the dryer to strain the motor. You should clean the air filters and replace any HEPA filters inside the dryer roughly every six months.
If the hand dryer stops working, you will need to call our helpline to get the problem fixed. Depending on the issue, the cost of repair will vary. It may be a simple case of cleaning the machine or replacing the sensor or motherboard which is usually fairly easy to do. Handy Dryers keep stock of most of the common parts that tend to need replacing.
For each product on our website we calculate the running costs for you. This is show above the image on each product page and shows a low and high running cost calculation on dryers where the energy usage can be varied.
