Carbon Saved by Not Using a Hairdryer

In terms of energy consumption, hair dryers are on a par with larger everyday household appliances, consuming as much energy as tumble dryers, washing machines and ovens. Although power ratings can vary from 600W to 2400W, the vast majority run at around 2000W. ^{1 2}

Hair drying habits vary. A typical hair drying session might take anything from 5 to 20 minutes, depending on various factors - how long your hair is, what kind of hair you have, whether it's been towel dried first etc.  If we take a midway estimate that the average hair drying session will last around 10 minutes, then the carbon emitted during one session will be as follows:

One drying session of 10 minutes = 0.17 hr

Typical hair dryer is 2000W = 2kW

Grid electricity conversion factor = 0.527 kg CO2 per kWh ³

Therefore CO2 emitted = 2kW x 0.17 x 0.527 = 0.2kg CO2 approx

Footnotes

Reference	Notes
1	A search on the online ethical shopping site Gooshing revealed 52 models rated at 1800-2000W, more than all the other power ratings available put together: http://www.gooshing.co.uk/hair_dryers/
2	See Carbon Footprint for a comparison of energy consumption of various common household appliances: http://www.carbonfootprint.com/energyconsumption.html
3	According toAMME The World's Energy Meter http://wiki.co2.dgen.net/index.php/ActOnCO2_Methodology#Grid_Electricity