Our partner Excel Dryer writes about cutting energy cost with hand dryers because for individuals and organizations alike, it is now time to imagine and execute plans, especially those that will result in personal and professional growth. Sometimes growth means doing away with old things that may not benefit you anymore. If you are still using paper towel dispensers in your restroom facility, it may be time to switch to something that will save you money this year and beyond.

With thoughts of positive change on the minds of many, it makes sense that National Cut Your Energy Costs Day occurs in January (January 10th each year). Naturally, it also makes sense for business owners to improve their bottom line. Because energy efficiency can mean the difference between dollars in your company’s pocket and dollars down the drain (or in the trash), examining ways to reduce energy costs is an excellent place to start.

Energy Savings By The Numbers

When you ponder your facility’s potential energy-sucking culprits, the restroom may not immediately come to mind.

But if your restroom offers paper towels, especially in a manual dispenser, you may believe you’ve chosen the most economical, energy-efficient hand hygiene solution. In honor of National Cut Your Energy Costs Day, it’s time to challenge that belief and talk about the truth. The original, patented, high-speed, energy-efficient XLERATOR® Hand Dryer literally blows away paper towels and is the wiser choice.

XLERATOR dries hands in 8 seconds* on just 3.7 Wh per use, expending 80 percent less energy than conventional hand dryers. We’d call it the most energy-efficient hand dryer on Earth, but we happen to know that another product wears that crown; it’s our XLERATOReco® Hand Dryer. Utilizing our exclusive no heat technology, this eco-friendly green machine draws a mere 1.7 Wh per use—while still drying hands fast (10 seconds*). If maximal energy reduction is the dream, you’ll want to consider making these signature, energy-efficient hand dryers part of your restroom’s reality.

Calculate Your Savings

A Costly Paper Trail

Speaking of reality, here’s one to keep in mind: there’s far more to a product’s energy consumption than the way that product is used. As we outlined in a post last June, a seemingly humble paper towel has quite a costly existence when considered from start to finish. In the spirit of a new year, let’s take another look at how paper towels increase energy costs.

Material production. 

For virgin paper, trees must be cut (from commercially grown forests), while materials for recycled paper towels must be collected, sorted, cleaned, and processed.

Transportation. 

Tons of logs, loads of raw materials, and finished products need to get from A to B with never-ending frequency, amounting to a lot of truck travel.

Manufacturing process. 

All paper is born through mechanical or chemical pulping (refer to another past post for an eye-opener on water use alone), then sorted and packaged using any number of materials.

Use. 

True, paper towels don’t do much during the short prime of their lives (perhaps they’re too exhausted from phases 1 through 3). But they can make quite a mess of restrooms and clog plumbing, resulting in a high-maintenance situation.

End of life. 

Recycled and recyclable- are two very different concepts. Even a 100-percent “recycled” paper towel—that is, one made entirely from recycled fibers—has no postconsumer value. That used paper towel is landfill-bound.

Although every manufactured product (yes, including a powerful electric appliance on a restroom wall) has a life cycle, not every product means an endless loop of them—marked by needless, constantly recurring expenses. In fact, with XLERATOR’s dramatic reduction in labor, maintenance, energy, and waste, you can see just how much your facility can save by using our Cost Savings Calculator. Just enter four simple stats about your company’s paper towel use and behold your personalized results.

Facilities of every type, including sports venues, schools, restaurants, government buildings, and even the nation’s most famous train station, have successfully stopped the madness by switching to high-speed, energy-efficient XLERATOR Hand Dryers. As you welcome 2022, we encourage you to take a moment to reflect on the ways you spent last year’s energy dollars. Then, resolve to discard those costly days of auld lang syne—like so much restroom paper waste.