Given the current economic situation, everyone from businesses and commercial enterprises to individuals are looking for ways to save money. Hair dryers blow out hot air and make a lot of noise doing so, so you’d be justified in wondering how much power these devices actually use. In this post we’re going to look at just that.
The average power levels of hair dryers
Hair dryers actually come in various levels of wattage, which will determine how much electricity they draw when used. Low-energy hair dryers start at around 1200watts, and they go up to 2000+watts for commercial hair dryers. Roughly speaking, the average hair dryer uses around 1800watts. For comparison, a 55inch LED TV uses 120 watts. So we can see, the wattage is on the upper end of the scale for household items. Other appliances around this mark include kettles and toasters.
The thing to remember is that hair dryers aren’t typically used for very long, probably around 5-10 minutes, depending on hair length and type. Also, roughly speaking, a higher wattage hair dryer should dry hair faster, so will be used for a shorter period of time. So there is always a balance to be struck when looking at energy consumption.
If we take the average wattage of 1800, and make the assumption that it is used for 5 minutes every day, then that results in 1.05 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per week, approximately 4.56 kWh per month and about 54.75 kWh over a year.
How to use less energy with your hair dryer
If the above looks like a startling figure, and you want to try and reduce the number as much as possible, then there are steps you can take.
- Aim for shorter drying times – remove excess moisture with a towel before blow drying.
Don’t use the maximum heat setting – in most cases, the medium setting on a hair dryer is enough and high settings can damage the hair. Only use high settings when needed. - Keep the hair dryer at a distance – by keeping your hair dryer a slight distance you will allow for a more even flow of warm air without overheating and still allow for a quicker dry time.
- Improve dryer maintenance – by regularly cleaning the hair dryer’s filter you will improve its functionality and shorten dry times.
- Don’t use it every day – unless you have a specific need or purpose for a blow dry, try air drying to reduce usage.
- Upgrade your hair dryer – modern hair dryers, such as ionic, use technology to decrease dry time and improve dry quality. If your current hair dryer is old, then it may be time to consider a new one.
How to find the wattage of a hair dryer
After all the above, you may feel compelled to check the wattage of your hair dryer. There are a few places you can look to try and find this:
- Most hair dryers have a label near the handle or the plug which should have this information.
- It will be listed on the box, or the instructions that came with it.
- If you can’t find either of the above, then the manufacturer’s website it probably the next best place to look.
At Handryers UK we offer free next day delivery, 90 day returns and an industry leading price match policy. We can also provide an installation service for your commercial hair dryers if needed. For any further help simply call us on 0114 322 3663 or contact us here.
