Jet Towel hand dryers are helping Aylesbury Vale Council create a superb impression while reducing energy consumption, at its new conference suite and offices in the heart of the ancient Buckinghamshire town.
A striking new council chamber and conference centre for Aylesbury Vale District Council was opened two years ago. As well as a central meeting point for council business, it is also open to the community and wider public for meetings and events.
Known as The Oculus, the main meeting room, showcases a ‘floating feature roof’ with a huge glass lens placed on top to reflect natural light back into the building.
“We are keen to control our energy usage, costs and carbon emissions, hence the emphasis on natural light,” explains Alan Asbury, Sustainability Officer. “And we have continued this
theme by installing energy efficient Mitsubishi Jet Towel hand dryers in the conference break-out rooms we have just completed.”
Overall, the building has a capacity for 140 people seated, but can accommodate well over three times that number standing.
“Big meetings can put an extra strain on the washrooms. Again Jet Towels help us cope with
this because their 10 second drying time is 3-4 times faster than a conventional hand dryer.”
Jet Towel revolutionises expectations of hand dryers by using two high speed jets of air to dry hands in around 10 seconds. It was designed and developed in Japan by Mitsubishi Electric in 1992 and is now available around the world in an eighth generation design.
Conventional dryers blow warm air over hands to evaporate moisture. This is noisy, time consuming and energy hungry. Also, it is not very hygienic because bacteria on the hands can be blown into the atmosphere to float around.
Jet Towel is a radical rethink on this concept. In use, hands are slipped into a generously sized drying slot where precision nozzles generate high speed jets to wipe liquid from the hands’ surfaces.
Far less air is set into motion, reducing the energy consumption, while any moisture is directed down into a drain tank for easy, ultra-hygienic disposal.
Alan is enthusiastic. “Their quiet operation is great for our location; their elegant good looks complement our stunning new building. And when I mentioned that we were considering Jet Towels our cleaning contractor said they were simply the best for being easy to clean and maintain.”
Aylesbury Vale has installed five heated Jet Towels on the ground floor to serve the conference facilities and council chamber, plus 10 more unheated ones on the upper floors for the permanent staff.
