Breathing, washing the floors, washing machine, baths and showers, humid environment (coastal city, near a lake), etc; there are many sources of water vapor and therefore humidity. Moreover, we are producers of water vapor. A family of four can produce up to 42 pints per day! To counteract this influx and maintain a good quality of life, you have two options: install a dehumidifier or a heater. A heater is a much more healthy option as many models include a dirt filtration system.
Respiratory and allergic health problems, as well as the gradual deterioration of window frames and walls, are problems that can be solved with dehumidification. On the other hand, the dehumidifier running costs are something you have to think about. But don’t worry, because calculating the approximate dehumidifier running costs is quite simple and we are going to explain it to you in this post. You have to know that, if you choose a suitable dehumidifier you may save electricity instead of using more.
Are you thinking of buying a dehumidifier but you are worried about the expenses it may add to your electrical bill? Electronic appliances account for 40% to 50% of a household’s electrical energy consumption.
Each appliance you add at home will likely increase consumption and therefore the amount of money you have to pay per month.
Three things will determine the cost of dehumidification in your home or office. These include the wattage of the dehumidifier, the number of hours it’s used, and the cost of a kilowatt of electricity in your state.
The first piece of information that you must take into account is the power of the equipment. This depends on the type of dehumidifier and also on other factors, such as capacity and design, among others. Power is expressed in watts and is always listed in the product specifications.
The average wattage of a dehumidifier is around 280 watts. However, this value generally is dependent on the dehumidifier size. 35-pint dehumidifiers use 454 watts on average, while a 50-pint model uses more than 600 watts on average.
According to user reviews, the Frigidaire High Humidity Capacity Dehumidifier is one of the most cost-effective and efficient 50-pint dehumidifiers. It’s perfect for rooms with around 3000 to 4500 square feet.
Most refrigerant dehumidifiers have a power rating that varies between 180 and 400 watts. The desiccant dehumidifiers, usually found in whole-house models, generally have higher consumption refrigerants.
The power in this type of dehumidifier is usually between 350 and 700 watts. Although the electrical consumption may be higher, desiccant dehumidifiers have other advantages.
So, if you only want a dehumidifier in a single room or office, it’s better to choose a small-sized unit to save the cost of electricity.
The cost of electricity varies from country to country and state to state. For example, if you reside in Louisiana, you will be spending just 7.7 cents for each kilowatt per hour Trusted Source State Electricity Profiles - Energy Information Administration Energy Information Administration – EIA – Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government. www.eia.gov on your dehumidifier, according to figures from the EIA. On the other hand, if you reside in Hawaii, you’ll be paying 28 cents for the same amount of electricity and the same period, according to March 2021 data.
Some leave their dehumidifier running every hour while some only choose to use it in some periods, at night especially. You can save a lot by only running the dehumidifier at night when there’s a lot of humidity, and turning it off during the day.
To calculate the monthly consumption of the device, you have to multiply the number of hours that you estimate that you will use it per day and the power.
This result is multiplied by the 30 days of the month (if you think you are going to use it every day). This way, you will get the amount of watts that the dehumidifier will consume in a month. Then you have to find out what the price of each watt is to know the final cost of consumption.
If you are not sure about the cost of electricity, look at the invoice sent by the electricity supplier company. There you can find out the rate, generally expressed in price per kilowatt (kW). A kilowatt is a thousand watts.
As we mentioned before, the power of the dehumidifier is also related to the number of pints of water it can remove from the environment per day and to the recommended size of the room in which it will be used. Take a look at the following comparison table to understand:
| Dehumidifier extraction capacity | Coverage area | Power |
| 20 pint | Up to 194 ft2 | 160 W |
| 25 pint | Up to 215 ft2 | 190 W |
| 30 pint | Up to 269 ft2 | 220 W |
| 40 pints | Up to 323 ft2 | 320 W |
| 60 pints | Up to 430 ft2 | 530 W |
| 100 pints | Up to 8061 ft2 | 775 W |
Note: These areas are calculated for an approximate floor or ceiling height of 2.5 meters. Note that the approximate power may vary depending on the dehumidifier model chosen.
Let’s assume you have a small 30-pint dehumidifier and you are going to run it for 12 hours a day, on average, you will be spending $0.49 a day, $14.9 a month, and $180.9 a year. If you use it four hours a day, you’ll be spending just $60 yearly on average.
That looks way lower than feared. Although at first, you might think that the consumption of a dehumidifier will increase the consumption of electrical energy in the home.
However, in reality, it does not necessarily have to be so. Especially if you live in a region with a cold and humid climate.
When the environment inside the home is cold and has a high level of humidity, a certain amount of energy is necessary to raise the room temperature.
But if you use a dehumidifier to lower the humidity level, it will take less energy to raise the room temperature, because dry air heats up more easily.
In other words, if you use a dehumidifier, you will save electrical energy in heating.
In this section, we also give you some tips that you should take into account when choosing a dehumidifier, to optimize electricity consumption in your home. So, keep reading.
It is important to observe the energy efficiency label of the dehumidifier that you are interested in buying. Energy efficiency is classified in letters from A to G and is also identified by a certain color.
Products classified as G have lower energy efficiency, that is, they use more electrical energy to obtain the same result. On the other hand, the products classified as A (green color), are more efficient. They use less energy to achieve the same level of humidity.
In the market, you can also find low consumption dehumidifiers. They are those that have an A + or A ++ energy efficiency, generally, you can see the energy efficiency in some type of label placed on the equipment or in the product specifications.
The A + or A ++ dehumidifiers have low power consumption. The main disadvantage is that they tend to be a bit more expensive than less efficient dehumidifiers. In any case, it is a cost that is worth taking. You will pay more just once and you will use less electricity. In a short time, you will recover the money invested.
You can set, for example, the level of ambient humidity you want. The dehumidifier will stop operation when the humidity level drops to the set level and will start again when the humidity percentage rises. Dehumidifiers that have this feature will use less energy. You must program your equipment to have an ambient humidity of 50% or 60%. In this way, you will have a healthy environment with minimal energy expenditure.
Some dehumidifiers also have timers that allow you to program their operation during certain hours of the day or night, with automatic on or off, which also allows you to optimize the use of electricity, especially if you have differential rates at different times of the day.
In conclusion, we have to say that, when buying a dehumidifier, it is important to know what its electricity consumption will be. The consumption of a dehumidifier will depend on the power of the equipment and its energy efficiency. Energy-efficient dehumidifiers are generally a great option. Even if they are priced higher than less efficient dehumidifiers, they will use less electricity and it will show on your bill at the end of the month.
Also, if you use a dehumidifier, you will also save the energy you’ll need in heating. Therefore, the consumption of the dehumidifier is compensated and you may even use less electricity in your home. Conclusively, the dehumidifier running costs are considerably low if you choose the right model and you only use the device when you need it.
