Dyson Airblade DB Hand Dryer Grey - AB14

Please note, you will need to make sure you have fuse spurs installed which are suitable for hand dryers.

The Dyson Airblade AB14 hand dryer has our install rating of:

* 3 *

1 = Easy, simple installation with no complicated considerations
2 = Easy, simple installation with a few considerations
3 = Moderately complex installation, with some considerations
4 = Slightly difficult, possibly complex installation with some complicated considerations
5 = Difficult, complex installation with complicated considerations

Please click hereto view the installation manual for the Dyson Airblade AB14 hand dryer.

Please note, our ratings above are our own for ease of comparison and are based on the assumption that a qualified electrician will be installing the hand dryer. We always recommend that a person of this calibre is commissioned to install for correct installation and health and safety requirements.

For more information regarding our install service please click here

Not what you were looking for from a hand dryer? Have a look at our Intelligent Search Tool for a more personalised selection by clicking here

So how long will this dryer last?

Hand dryers can have 2 types of motor which are:

• A digital brushless motor
• A universal brush motor

In theory, universal brush motors do not last as long as digital brushless motors and require the brushes to be changed periodically.  They also vary in their lifespan.  Digital motors however do cost more to repair should they fail at any point.  There are variations in the lifespans of both universal brushed motors and digital motors.

The best way to choose what is right for you is to look at your facility and the amount of use each hand dryer is expected to get.  This way it can be determined if a brushed motor hand dryer would be most suitable for you or whether investing in a digital brushless motor would be more cost effective.

* Please note: the above is for guidance only based on generalised information relating to standard figures; each location and type of usage will effect each factor.  With all high speed brush motors, they will last longer if the dust around moving parts is removed periodically.

The above is based on the inhouse testing dry times of 11 seconds.

Based on the above information we would recommend this hand dryer to be situated in bathrooms with the following daily uses: (see recommendations with 'y') (non recommendations with 'n')

To work out the annual life expectancy in your facility for the Dyson Airblade AB14 hand dryer click here

To view our full range of long life expectancy hand dryers please click here

Not what you were looking for from a hand dryer? Have a look at our Intelligent Search Tool for a more personalised selection by clicking here.

Depending upon the location, hand dryers can be damaged through vandalism. This includes being leveraged off the wall, damaging the outer casing and putting foreign objects into the openings. Locations I  which this is likely to occur include pubs, nightclubs, transport facilities such as train stations, schools, stadiums, arenas and unattended public toilets to name a few.

The Dyson Airblade AB14 hand dryer has the following features to help reduce vandalism:

• No areas for blockage potential
• Galvanised steel back plate/mounting bracket
• Anti-tamper M6 machine screw
• Polycarbonate-ABS casing which is greater than 1.5mm thick

As can be seen, this hand dryer has been made with anti-vandalism in mind.  Although you usually find that “hands in” type hand dryers can easily be pulled off the wall due to being larger and having leverage points, Dyson have provided a video of their testing to show this has been thought of in design.

To view our full range of hand dryers with enhanced anti vandal features please click here

Not what you were looking for from a hand dryer? Have a look at our Intelligent Search Tool for a more personalised selection by clicking here

There are a few points to consider when choosing a hand dryer with disabled users in mind.  These include:

• Wheelchair access with regard to users being able to position their hands correctly
• The amount of moisture that will be left on the floor after drying if units are to be used by people physically impaired
• The noise level of some high speed hand dryers may be too loud for some users, such as users with autism, multiple sclerosis etc

Disabled areas often double up as baby changing facilities, so considerations include leaving extra space for double buggies, noise levels for children etc.

We would say that the Dyson Airblade AB14 is not really suited for disabled users due to its loud noise levels and no water catchment area so excess water drips on the floor.  Also, as with most “hands in” hand dryers, the position of the hands becomes an issue and makes them not very accessible.

To view our full range of hand dryers with suitable properties for disabled users please click here

Not what you were looking for from a hand dryer? Have a look at our Intelligent Search Tool for a more personalised selection by clicking here

Without doubt the Airblade hand dryer is the fastest and most powerful blade hand dryer on the market, you will get at least a 2 second faster hand dry from the Airblade than the Mitsubishi Jet Towel, Mediclinics dualflow or Biodrier (despite their claims)!

You will need to weigh this up against the Airblade being less energy efficient than the Mitsubishi Jet Towel, The Mediclinics Dual flow and many of the 'hands' under high speed, low energy hand dryers. Also the Airblade is not as effective as virtually all other 'blade' hand dryers when it comes to keeping floors dry as they have no water drainage system.

Finally the Dyson Airblade is 8 times louder than the Mitsubishi Jet Towel which does matter in some locations, particularly if there are a few going off at once or the walls are not particularly sound proofed.

On the other hand, the Dyson Airblade is the most robust of all the 'blade’ hand dryers and therefore more suitable where vandalism may occur, for example in nightclubs or city centre pubs. It also delivers one of the highest levels of hand hygiene due to the HEPA filter.

Check before installing a Dyson Airblade that your washroom has the required space and suitable electrical points. If you have a small washroom and require multiple units this may not be the hand dryer for you. Also consider that the guarantee of 360,000 cycles may not cover your Airblade for very long in very high traffic locations and therefore you may be better with something like the Mitsubishi jet towel which is guaranteed for twice as many hand drying cycles.

Some of the places this hand dryer has been installed include: 

• University of Glasgow National Gallery
• Longleat Safari park
• MOTO Service stations
• Salzburg Airport
• Alton Towers
• The Gerkin
• Nando's
• Davy’s Of London

Not what you were looking for from a hand dryer? Have a look at our Intelligent Search Tool for a more personalised selection by clicking here

Washing hands correctly is the best way to ensure high levels of hand hygiene.  Making sure hands are completely dry is the next important aspect of hand hygiene.

Most modern hand dryers have standard hygienic properties such as fast dry times and touch free sensors to activate. However for added peace of mind some models have enhanced hygienic properties.

The extra hygiene aspects this hand dryer has are:

• Dry time under 15 seconds
• Touch Free Activation
• HEPA filter, to clean the air of dust and bacteria before it gets blown onto the hands
• Antibacterial coating to fascia and blades to help prevent the growth of bacteria

To view our full range of hand dryers with extra hygienic properties please click here – this includes our eXtremeAir CPC model with Cold Plasma technology.

Not what you were looking for from a hand dryer? Have a look at our Intelligent Search Tool for a more personalised selection by clicking here

So how much will it cost you to run this hand dryer?

The below figures are per 1000 dries, please see below regarding how to calculate a more personalised annual cost for you

*Based on 12p per kW of electricity unit cost
+Based on 2.5 towels used per dry
#Standard warm air hand dryer use approx 25 watts per dry

Based on a 12p per kW of electricity unit cost, we would anticipate the Dyson Airblade AB14 hand dryer would cost approximately £0.000587 per average drying cycle.  These and the above figures are based on our in house testing dry times

To work out the annual running costs and carbon emissions in your facility for the Dyson Airblade AB14 hand dryer click here – this will also show you annual savings made against putting paper towels, roller towels and standard warm air hand dryers into your facility.

Not what you were looking for from a hand dryer? Have a look at our Intelligent Search Tool for a more personalised selection by clicking here.

Manufacturers typically measure sound levels in terms of decibels dB(A) @ a 1 metre distance in a sound proof chamber. This measurement does not take into account the increase in noise when hands are positioned under/in the dryer or when the sound bounces off walls. Where possible we supply manufacturer's stated dB(A), and 2 independent tests which are more reflective of 'real conditions’.

*represents maximum “real life” volume

Equivalent Examples:
Normal Conversation                      50 - 70dB(A)
Vacuum Cleaner                             70dB(A)
Busy Traffic / Alarm clock               80dB(A)
Lawn Mower / Chainsaw                 90dB(A)
*various internet sources

Please click here to read our guide to help understand what the perceived decibel level above would be equivalent to.

The Dyson Airblade AB14 is certainly not the quietest on the market as you would expect from a hand dryer with such good drying performance.  The motor needs to be spinning fast to create a powerful airflow.

We independently tested the original AB07 Airblade in 'real conditions' i.e. standard room with hands in the dryer and the dbA levels were 86.6 dBA. The AB14 is claimed to be over 50% quieter than the original and we can confirm a perceptual change from the original, however we could not find in Dysons specification precisely what the official dbA rating is.

It is worth noting that if your noise concern relates to the noise carrying into different areas of the building then pitch will be just as relevant as sound output (loudness). Higher frequency pitches will not travel through walls as easily as low frequency pitches for example. Please contact usdirectly to discuss your specific need.

To view our full range of quiet hand dryers please click here

Not what you were looking for from a hand dryer? Have a look at our Intelligent Search Tool for a more personalised selection by clicking here.

In our experience, the dry time stated by the manufacturer is not always the same in reality when used by the consumer. As experts in our field we like to show the types of variations we have found from independent testing and in house testing so that you have all relevant information before you purchase.

* As stated by the manufacturer using their own testing procedures
+ Please ask for more information
# Conducted using our own in house testing protocols (visual demonstration in “real use” as opposed to scientific protocols)

Our in house testing, the video of which can be seen here, showed that the dry time stated by the manufacturer of 10 seconds is accurate.

When we subjected the Dyson Airblade AB14 to test conditions which compared it against other hand dryers it achieved 96.3% moisture reduction (hygienic dry is 95%) within 15 seconds so hands were hygienically dry in 13-14 seconds.  This information is not intended to be reflective of drying times when used in normal conditions but provides equal comparison with other TESTED hand dryers using the same protocol.

Dyson tested their unit based on the National Sanitation Foundation's Protocol P335 (NSF P335)

It is impossible to argue with the power of an Airblade. The motor spins at an incredible 90,000 times a minute, producing an air force powerful enough to draw in 35 litres of air a second through a HEPA filter, the air is then concentrated through two long outlets the width of a human hair.  This produces two blades of air with a velocity force of 430 mph that scrapes moisture from hands.

To view our full range of fast drying hand dryers please click here

Not what you were looking for from a hand dryer? Have a look at our Intelligent Search Tool for a more personalised selection by clicking here.

The energy efficiency of a hand dryer is derived by dividing the rated power by the dry speed. Ultimately what is important is how many watt-hours per dry are used.

* As stated by the manufacturer using their own testing procedures
+ Please ask for more information
# Conducted using our own in house testing protocols (visual demonstration in “real use” as opposed to scientific protocols)

For comparison, a standard conventional hand dryer users around 25 – 30Wh per dry

The above manufacturer rating is based on their reported dry time of 10 seconds.  The independent testing rating is based on the reported dry time of between 13-14 seconds. The in house testing rating is based on the dry time of 11 seconds.  As you will see, they all show an energy efficient dry time when compared to a standard conventional hand dryer.

To view our full range of our low energy hand dryers please click here.

Not what you were looking for from a hand dryer? Have a look at our Intelligent Search Tool for a more personalised selection by clicking here

We are passionate about helping others reduce carbon emissions, which in turn will help slow down the negative effects of global warming.  For more information about carbon emissions and the environment click here.

The following table shows the approx. amount of carbon emissions produced to complete 1000 dries based on independent / in house testing:

*Based on using 3 towels per dry
+Standard warm air hand dryer use approx 25 watts per dry

Paper towels are based on 22.5gms/Co2 per dry and standard warm air hand dryers are based on Carbon Trusts measurement of 1 kw = 0.54 kg/Co2.

To work out the annual running costs and carbon emissions in your facility for the Dyson Airblade AB14 hand dryer click here – this will also show you how many virgin trees you will be saving by using this hand dryer compared to paper towels.

The figures above are based on the in house testing dry times of 11 seconds.  As you will see this is a very low carbon production when compared to paper towels or a standard warm air hand dryer.

The Dyson Airblade AB14 has a fully documented carbon footprint. Every component is recyclable so there’s little waste to dispose of at the end of its life.  The product is on the governments ETL list for Energy efficient products that qualify for tax breaks.

We are seriously committed, as a Carbon Trust accredited supplier, to provide you with the most eco-friendly hand dryers available. Please click here to see more about what we do to help improve the environment and reduce carbon emissions.

Not what you were looking for from a hand dryer? Have a look at our Intelligent Search Tool for a more personalised selection by clicking here

At Intelligent Hand Dryers UK, our ethos is to bring you as much open, honest and reliable information as possible so you can make the most suitable and informed purchase.

We endeavour to include independently obtained results and in house testing, as well as manufacturer's specifications. This gives a true reflection of dry time performance, noise and energy efficiency of each hand dryer.

Noise level testing was conducted at the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and a leading independent testing facility.

We also provide in house video testing to demonstrate dry performance. This gives a visual demonstration in “real use” as opposed to using methodical scientific protocols.  The approximate dry time using this method was set when no spots of water could be seen on a paper towel after drying the hands.  This is over and above what is required to be classed as a “hygienic dry” which requires 95% of the hands to be dry after using the dryer.

Need more information or advice? Please contact us by clicking here where one of our dedicated experts will be able to assist you in whichever way you need.