How to Choose Portable Power Station for a Hair Dryer?
Table of Contents
Top Rated Portable Power Station for a Hair Dryer
How much power does a hair dryer need?
The average power required by a regular hair dryer is around 1500 Watts. But the power requirement of hair dryers varies between 1000 Watts to 3000 Watts. Although not used for long hours, a hair dryer is a power-hungry device. It would cause severe power requirements in commercial spaces like parlors and beauty shops. It is estimated that if a 1500-Watt hair dryer is operated for an hour, the power requirement would be the same as what a standard television would require to work for 40 hours.
Amongst the different types of hair dryers available in the market, the most commonly used ones are the ceramic hair dryer, the ionic hair dryer, the titanium hair dryer, and the tourmaline hair dryer, which differ from each other in their power requirements too.
Ceramic hair dryers usually require around 1000 Watts to 1800 Watts of power per hour, and the power variation depends upon the thickness of the hair. Ionic hair dryers are typically available in around 1800 Watts range and are one of the most power-hungry equipment in the section.
Titanium hair dryers are another power-intensive product of the section, which require at least 2000 Watts to function correctly. This high-power requirement is due to the presence of a titanium coil in the dryer, which has to be heated well to enable the drying feature of the machine.
Tourmaline hair dryers need at least 1500 Watts, but they save significant power compared to the other hair dryers as they can dry the hair much faster.
The various power settings on the hair dryer would also influence the power requirement of the devices. Experts estimate that the power required to operate a hair dryer in its highest setting is almost double what is needed to use it in a medium setting.
Why do you need a portable power station for hair dryers?
Supports commercial requirements of hair dryers
Although hair dryers are not a staple for households, in fields like the beauty business and fashion industry, having hair dryers is a bust. Ensuring continuous power to operate a hair dryer is a must as long as parlors, grooming centers, and even personal stylists are concerned. During emergency power outages and longer hours of power shortage, such industries could halt without a power source to help operate hair dryers. This is where the relevance of a portable power station for a hair dryer comes into play. A portable power station would come in handy to support the commercial requirements of hair dryers.
Provide style options for people off-grid
People living off the power grid often struggle when styling their hair. Similar power-intensive positions and a portable power station would be the best answer to such scenarios. Keeping a portable power station handy enough to power a couple of beauty-enhancing equipment like hair dryers allows one to not depend on the power grid, not even for minor and trivial requirements.
Compatible with air travel
Hair dryers are eligible to be taken on flights and portable power stations. While traveling to less familiar places where the power availability is unsure of, the user can take a lightweight, portable power station along with them on the carry-on luggage on an airplane and need not compromise on styling the hair just because they are not home.
Availability of low-power options
New models of hair dryers introduced in the market focus more on reducing the power requirement of the devices, and the efforts to decrease the need for power to less than 1000 Watts are adequately supported by portable power stations as they are available in a variety of output wattages. There are portable power stations with an output wattage of less than 200 W, and this wide variety offers excellent assistance to hair dryers with any power requirement.
USB-compatibility
Many new hair dryers feature USB slots to power the devices as they are the most convenient and readily available. Almost all of the portable power stations currently available in the market also feature USB outputs and charging cables, making them a must-have power source for hair dryers.
How to choose a portable power station for a hair dryer?
Capacity and output wattage
The capacity or output wattage of the portable power station for the hair dryer should solely be based on the power requirement of the concerned hair dryer and its various power settings. Generally, a 1000 Watts to 2000 Watts portable power station would be ideal for operating a standard hair dryer. But when it comes to compact hair dryers that are mainly used while the users are on the go, the power requirement is much less than 1000 Watts, and thus, you can purchase a portable power station with lesser output wattage.
For hair dryers that are commercially used or used for longer hours, the portable power station should have a higher battery capacity that can be retained continuously for at least 4 hours. Hair salons usually use titanium hair dryers, which are highly power-hungry products that require 2000 Watts to operate an hour. Thus, for such hair dryers, the portable power station should be chosen carefully with the most high-end battery capacity.
Output port
Hair dryers come in both AC and DC versions. So, depending on the version of the hair dryer, the number and nature of output ports on the portable power station should be decided. If it is for commercial-type hair dryers that are bigger and more powerful, having a portable power station with a DC output port would be ideal. But for the hair dryers kept for household or personal use with standard efficiency and size, AC is required, and the portable power station should have at least an AC output port.
Another version of the hair dryer is the wireless battery-powered hair dryer that is charged accordingly through a USB cable. Thus, it is also advisable to have a USB output port on the portable power station.
Recharge time
If the hair dryer is cordless, it could function for 15 minutes continuously in a hot setting and for around three hours in a cold setting. So, the portable power station for a cordless hair dryer should have an extremely less recharge time, especially if the hair dryer is supposed to be put to great use. It would be much better if the portable power station supported the pass-through charging feature, which enables the power station to charge the hair dryer even while recharging.
If you are using a traditional wired hair dryer, then the recharge time of the portable power station does not cause many problems. Because generally, wired hair dryers tend to shut down automatically after ten or more minutes, and thus, no continuous usage for hours is possible for such devices. Therefore, the portable power stations for wired hair dryers can take two hours or more to completely charge the system as it gets enough time to charge occasionally whenever the hair dryer shuts off.
Power source
Being power-hungry devices, commercial hair dryers can either use fuel generators or battery-powered power stations as power sources. But the fatality caused to the environment and the people around by the fuel-powered generators makes battery-powered, rechargeable portable power stations the natural first choice as the power source for a hair dryer.
Although solar-powered portable power stations can come in handy to power hair dryers while camping or other outdoor activities, they may not be adequate if the power requirement is high, especially for long hours that may extend into the night.
It is much advisable to get a hybrid portable power station capable of shifting between the battery pack and solar power, enabling the user to use hair dryers for long hours by simply switching between the power sources.
Dimensions and net weight
Hair dryers come in multiple shapes and sizes, and their net weight generally spans from as little as half a pound to five or six pounds. As they are flight and travel-friendly, they are often carried around by the user. So, the portable power stations for hair dryers should also be of minimum size and weight so that the user can carry them around conveniently.
Considering the power-hungry nature of hair dryers, extremely compact portable power stations with minimum power production capability would not be ideal. Any portable power station, which ranges from 10 pounds to 30 pounds, could provide around or more than 1000 Watts, which would be suitable for a hair dryer.
Conclusion
With an average power consumption of 1500 Watts to 2000 Watts, a hair dryer is one of the most power-intensive equipment. Nearly 10 Kilowatt hours of electricity are consumed monthly when a hair dryer is used for merely 10 minutes every day. This high-power requirement makes it one of the most vulnerable devices during an emergency power outage or long hours of load shedding. This is why a portable power station is essential for hair dryers.
The portable power station for hair dryers should be capable enough to provide ample power to the hair dryer with a battery retaining capacity of at least four hours. As multiple variants of hair dryers are available, there is no specific requirement regarding the output ports. As high power is required, using solar-compatible portable power stations for hair dryers would be a great way to save a significant amount of energy and money.