During the colder months, the most common phone call that we get is from customers asking why their dehumidifier has stopped collecting water. In fact, there are periods where we know we’ll get lots of these calls, and it’s when the temperatures are below freezing and there’s often snow on the ground. So we thought we’d address the question of ‘do dehumidifiers work in cold weather?’
What Changes In The Freezing Cold Weather?
Dehumidifiers do work in winter, but when it is very cold, there’s a difference in the moisture in the air. When temperatures are below freezing, moisture becomes trapped in the ice and snow and the relative humidity in the air plummets. You can feel the effects of this yourself – your skin becomes dry, so you need to moisturise more often, or pile on the lip balm. You get static shocks when we touch something metal and your throat becomes dry. This is all because there is dramatically less moisture in the air in general. Normally the human body is rubbish at telling whether the relative humidity is high or low but when things get to the extremes we can easily spot the difference.
So, do dehumidifiers work in colder weather?
When the air is this dry there is nothing for a dehumidifier to do – there’s just no excess moisture to remove from the air. In their humidistat modes the dehumidifiers are aiming for a target relative humidity of between 40 – 60%rh, and in Laundry mode the lowest they can go is around 35%rh. The relative humidity during freezing weather is often between 10 – 25%rh. So it is no wonder that the dehumidifiers stop collecting water if the relative humidity is all tied up in the snow and ice.
When the temperatures rise the dehumidifiers will start to collect water again. So there’s no need to panic – your dehumidifier is having a well-earned rest and you can go and play in the snow! And there’s the simple answer to the question: ‘Do dehumidifiers work in cold weather’.
You can take a look at our range of dehumidifiers for the home, and call us on 01483 234900 if you need any help or advice.
Products featured: dehumidifiers
Snow and ice reduces moisture in the air and gives your dehumidifier a rest.
28 responses
Will a arete 12ltr compressor run continously in 16⁰c +
The dehumidifier is a source of heat turning off to defrost isn’t ideal and dessicant types are too expensive to run
Alan,
Thank you for your enquiry. The design concept is that your dehumidifier works to reach the set humidity target, so it shouldn’t need to run continuously. Once the target is achieved, it will cycle on and off as needed rather than running all the time, which also helps manage energy use and avoids unnecessary defrost cycles.
KR,
Omar@Meaco