James Dyson is one of the UK’s most well known inventors. He started by revolutionizing vacuum cleaners by replacing the bag with cyclone technology. Then he moved on to fans and removed the need for blades through the creation of the Air Multiplier.
You may have also seen the Dyson name in public restrooms as his company created a hand drying machine (the Airblade Mk2) that easily outperforms any hand dryer that has gone before it. And now he’s integrated that technology directly into a faucet.
We first heard about this faucet that both washes and dries your hands back in December when Dyson filed a patent for the idea. This week it was launched as the Airblade Tap, and at the sky high price of £1,000 (US$1,500) per faucet.
Dyson doesn’t believe that’s a lot to pay when you take into account how much energy and resources you save by using it. The Airblade Tap doesn’t heat the air to dry your hands. Instead, it uses a very efficient electric motor to blast filtered air over them at 450mph, meaning the water is just scooped off your skin quickly. No heat means less power, and the high speed airflow allows hands to be dried in just 12 seconds. You also don’t need to buy hand towels, which saves on both cost and resources.
Dyson is marketing the Airblade Tap to hotels and anywhere there exists public restrooms. As the hand drying is built into the faucet it’s also going to get rid of queues for the dryer if used in a busy restroom. You’ll also notice the person washing their hands never has to touch anything making the Airblade Tap very hygienic.
If you’re wondering how the Airblade Tap is made, check out the video below: