We are asked lots of questions on our Live Chat on a daily basis. One of the most common questions is ‘How much does it cost to run a dehumidifier?’
In fact, it’s such a common question that we have decided to write a whole blog about it! With the current climate, reducing your energy bills is the priority. A lot of the time people will look at their household equipment price at face value, without considering the fact that you could save a lot of money long-term by knowing its cost to run per day. There’s lots to talk about how much it can cost to run a dehumidifier per day.
Does a dehumidifier cost a lot to run?
Not as much as you’d think! Our dehumidifiers are designed to be as energy-efficient as possible, and most of the dehumidifiers sold by other brands are efficient too. That means that even the cost of running a dehumidifier continuously might be less than you think.
As with all these questions, the heart of the matter lies in how often you’re planning to use your dehumidifier. If you are running a dehumidifier 24/7, the costs will clearly be higher than if you’re just using it for a couple of hours a day. It also depends on the season – dehumidifiers are more often used in the autumn and winter than in the spring and summer, so your running costs will necessarily be higher during the colder months.
So there’s no absolute cost to running a dehumidifier. But here’s something that might help. It’s a question from a happy customer!
‘What is the cost of running a dehumidifier?’
Q: Hi there, I have two of the ‘MeacoDry Arete One Air Purifier/Dehumidifiers‘ and I love them. I use them when I’m drying laundry and I have recommended them on my website and know of four people who have bought them as a result. I have been asked how much they cost to run and so I wondered if you had detailed figures or graphs please of power consumption for lowest / highest or even all settings, full cycle.
A: First, thanks for buying your dehumidifiers from us, and for recommending us to others! We really appreciate that.
Energy efficiency was one of the key factors we considered when making the Arete range.
It’s important to point out that the dehumidifier that the customer bought is a compressor dehumidifier. This is the type of dehumidifier that works best in warmer temperatures (of 10°C for our 20 and 25L and 15°C for our smaller units). They can be used in your bedroom or bathroom or any room in your home that isn’t too cold. We’ll talk about this a bit more below.
This is potentially quite a difficult question to answer because the performance will vary from day to day. For example, the MeacoDry Arete 20L uses 216 watts at a power consumption at 20°C and 60%rh. That’s 7p/hour based on 34p/kWh, and around 56p if you run it for 8 hours a day.
Different season – different costs
When looking at dehumidifiers, you should remember that they are a winter product and all of the energy used is delivered back to the room as heat which is a good thing at that time of year. You will also save on the costs of your heating bills – not only because of the heat it delivers but also because the air will be dryer and easier to heat. You won’t need to use a tumble dryer or any form of drying clothes, as your dehumidifier absorbs the moisture in the air making it quicker for your laundry to dry.
When you first get a dehumidifier it will run flat out drying out your house, so it may cost more to run initially. Once the house is dry it will only turn on when it’s needed. So your dehumidifier could end up running for several hours some days and then not running for a couple of weeks at all because the house is then dry. That means that the cost to run a dehumidifier will not be the same week-in, week-out.
How much does it cost to run a compressor vs desiccant dehumidifier?
Compressor machines will always be cheaper to run than desiccant dehumidifiers. That’s because they don’t return heat to the space and are only really designed for spaces above 10°C. So running costs for them float between 5p and 9p per hour. A compressor machine running at normal room temperatures will always be the cheapest way to dry the air, especially when you start looking at cost in terms of pence per litre of water.
Desiccants win at lower temperatures and when someone actually wants to add warmth to a colder room in winter. In that case they get both water and warmth for their money. This is a type of unit that works at lower temperatures and that the air is pushed back into the room as heat. They are often used in colder rooms like basements, garages and utility rooms. The costs to run this type of dehumidifier are different to the costs for a compressor dehumidifier, which is the better choice for general home use.
To find out more about compressor dehumidifiers, take a look at our Low Energy Compressor Dehumidifiers ?
What makes a cost-effective dehumidifier?
So, what helps to keep the cost to run a dehumidifier low? It comes down to the efficiency of the unit and the features that have been added to help you control how and when the dehumidifier works. In this example, the MeacoDry Arete One has intelligent controls that regularly check on the relative humidity to ensure that it only dries the air when necessary.
Those in-built efficiencies means that it can cost as little as 5p per hour to run a compressor dehumidifier, which is still extremely cost-effective. And, as we’ve said above, it can also help you to save on the costs of your general heating bills, as this type of dehumidifier removes excess moisture from the air, making it easier and quicker to heat. And the air that is recycled out of the dehumidifier is warm, so there are cost savings to be made there as well as in the efficiencies of the unit itself.
Don’t forget that we have running costs for all our dehumidifiers on the website. Every product page gives you an idea of how much it costs to run. Just have a browse around the site to find out more, or call us on 01483 234900.
Products featured: MeacoDry Arete® One 20L Dehumidifier / Air Purifier
27 Responses
Geek alert! I have 4 Meaco dehumidifiers, two desiccants and 2 heat pumps. I run them continuously because we live in the damp, but beautiful, Peak District.
This has got me thinking about the true costs of running these, especially in the winter months.
1: There is the electrical energy going in to run the heat pump, ~216 watts. However, that energy is not ‘lost’ to the house as it emerges as heat, albeit not an efficient conversion of electricity to heat, about the same as a 0.2kW electrical bar fire. So the heating boiler has to work less hard.
2: But then there is the energy released by the condensing water vapour. So at 8.5 litres condensed per day, 19210 kJ of heat will be released in the house, equivalent ~200 watts, so the heating boiler has to work even less hard.
3: Finally(?) if I am running the dehumidifier, it will reduce the relative humidity of the house. I understand that lower RH values are more comfortable so I could further benefit by lowering the house thermostat a bit and still feel as ‘comfortable’.
So the dehumidifier is not ‘costing’ me extra, but is just heating my house differently and relatively efficiently.
Final question: am I totally out of my pram, or are my assumptions correct?
Hello,
Thank you for your enquiry and to confirm you are correct.
I hope that helps,
Omar.
Hello,
I’ve just purchased the Meaco Arte One Dehumidifier and Air Purifier 10L. How much will it cost me to run?
My two bedroom home is poorly insulated, the wall are always cold, the air feels damp.
I should add, It’s really doing its job. I would recommend product 100%.
Thank you. Mary Griffin Cork Ireland.
Thank you Mary,
Costs would vary depending on the fan speed and settings around the machine, however an approximate running cost of this unit would be 4p / hour based on 27.35p / kWh.
Please visit the technical overview tab on the product page for more information.
Hope this helps.
https://www.meaco.com/products/meacodryarete1-10l
Omar@Meaco
Running cost
Please could you tell me how much more it costs more to run the 25ltr compared with the 20 ltr acrete
We noticed that Argos has the 25 in stock would this be an an older model? Or are they same as when you have new stock in?
I have just purchased the meaco DD8L desiccant. How much an hour to run when in the recommended mode ?
Thanks
Thank you for your enquiry,
The recommended mode refers to the level of humidity, the running cost depends on the fan speed being used.
Running costs as follows:
9p / hour based on 27.35p / kWh on fan speed 1
18p / hour based on 27.35p / kWh on fan speed 2 and laundry mode
Please refer to the product page for more information: https://www.meaco.com/products/meaco-dd8l-junior-dehumidifier
Omar@Meaco
Hi Chris
We’ve just purchased the Meaco Dry Arête One 12L.
We pay 27.51 per kWh.
Please can you tell me the daily running cost?
I appreciate a previous comment that you made regarding the first two weeks of use to dry out the house, then it settles down use and cost wise.
Thank you
Dave
Hello,
Thank you for your enquiry and recent purchase.
The cost can vary daily, depending on how active the machine is, with a power consumption at 20 °C and 60 % RH, you’ll be using 151 watts which measures to just over 4p per hour running cost.
I hope this helps.
For more information please visit the extraction rate data tab, found here: https://www.meaco.com/products/meacodryarete1-12l
Omar@Meaco
Hi, can you tell how much power the Arête one 25l will use on air purifier mode.
Hello – Using the AP mode on the dehumidifier will use appx. Circa 30 Watts.
Regards,
Omar.
Hello, Chris,
A couple of points about running costs:
1. I think there’s a typo in the section about running costs, where it quotes “… and around 56p/hour if you run it for 8 hours a day”. Shouldn’t that be 56p/day?
2. We’ve had our Arete 20L for a week now, set to ‘Smart Humidity Mode’. We’ve had to empty it from full three times, so all seems well. But I’m concerned about running costs. Because it cuts in and out throughout the day and night, it’s difficult to tell how many hours it’s actually running, and thus impossible to tell how much it’s costing per day. My energy smart meter tells me it’s using about an additional 3 units/day, which equates to £1/day, or £365/year, but that sounds rather expensive. Does that sound right to you?
Bill,
Thank you for the heads up on the typo, we have fixed that straight away. At 7p per hour it will be 56p for the example of 8 hours.
The machine has a very low wattage, this will vary around 216 watts or less depending on what the room relative humidity and temperature, examples are in the Extraction Rate Data tab on the product page https://www.meaco.com/products/meacodry-arete-one-20l-dehumidifier-and-air-purifier, you can see from that 216 watts is the highest in most conditions, it would actually under 200 watts.
Unless your house is very damp, or you are on a much more expensive tariff that the UK norm, then 14 days hours dehumidification per day seems unlikely (to get to £1/day). You can control the running time by making sure that your target is set to 50 or 55%rh and you are not over drying. Whilst the dehumidifier is ‘sleeping’ you will be using less than one watt and when the machine is checking the room conditions every 30 minutes you will be using about 30 watts.
It is the case that when a dehumidifier is new to a home that it will run hard to dry the house out for the first few weeks. Once the house (and the material in the house) are dry, then use will settle down and decrease.
Hope this helps.
Chris
Hello, we have just purchased the Meaco ABC 12L. How much will this cost per hour to run?
Many thanks
5p
Is that 30w when resting? Mine is set to single fan and the minimum setting for humidity levey (to 60%rh) so presumably uses 330w when in operation. In a small conservatory 6 x 1.5 m in Devon how many hours over a year would you expect it to be running at the 330w level?
Judie,
30 watts is in fan only mode, when it is in standby it will be less than 1 watt. It is impossible to say how many hours it would run in your conservatory because we don’t know how well sealed the space is, whether you dry washing in there each day, whether it joins on to a kitchen that does not have an extractor fan, how many people are in the room each day and how many hours they are in there for. Too many variables I am afraid, but with it set to 60%rh on low fan speed you will be keeping your costs to a minimum whilst combatting the damp.
Hope this helps.
Chris
I have just bought a meaco dd8l junior desiccant dehumidifier and I am concerned about how much it will cost to run I use it to help dry washing
Thank you for your email and your purchase. In fan speed one you are using 330 watts, full blast it is 650 watts. So roughly
11p / hour based on 34p / kWh on fan speed 1
22p / hour based on 34p / kWh on fan speed 2 and laundry mode
Don’t forget that you also get the warmth in the room as well as the dry air and dry clothes. It is a very popular and sensible way to dry laundry and to protect your home from damp.
The rooms in our house that experience most condensation sits at about 12-15 degrees. I hadn’t realised until reading this post that it seems that the dehumidifier seems to work better if warmer? (Meaco arrete 25L)
So would you be recommending putting heat on too? Seems like an expensive solution
We got it just over a week ago. I don’t think it has ever voluntarily switched itself off so am obviously concerned about running costs.
Louise,
Thank you for your purchase and your message. When you put a dehumidifier into a new space it will take a while to dry that space out because of the build up of moisture in that over area over the past x numbers of years. Everything needs to dry out, whether that be the walls, furniture, books, papers, photographs etc. So the dehumidifiers do tend to work hard for the first few weeks and then you start to see them turn on and off.
They will extract more water at higher room temperatures, but only increase the room temperature if you want to, no need to do it just for the dehumidifier.
Chris
We have a meaco 20L and had it running to dry a leak out. How much has this cost us in 24 hours ?
I don’t know which variation of 20L you have, but it will be about 7p/hour, so £1.68/day.
Hello Chris,
I have a Meaco DD8L Junior, I purchased it on 13th November 2017. It has been running fine until today but it has now stop working, it’s completely dead. I am a retired electrician and I have check the fuse in the plugtop and that’s OK so the fault must be internal. I’m very disappointed as over the years I have owned both Lec and Ebac dehumidifiers and they both lasted many years with no problems. I guess I will have to arrange a repair.
Yours sincerely
John Powell.
John,
Contact the office on 01483 234900 and they will arrange a free of charge repair for you.
Chris
Hi, we have just purchased a Arete 20L with the purpose of drying laundry. How much will this rough cost per hour with room temp of 17 – 18 degrees?
Phil,
Thank you for your purchase.
7p / hour based on 34p / kWh
Chris