Buying dehumidifier questions...

19 years ago

We are looking into buying a dehumidifier for our basement and I'm curious what we should look for. This is just for basic dehumidification -- it's not really wet or moldy.

I've heard that they can be very loud and since my DH's office is down there, we'll most likely look for one that is quieter. I've seen pints/hour ratings, but does that matter if we're going to run a hose to the drain, or should I just look at the square footage that it can handle? Is it better to get one that can handle larger sq. ft. than the space actually is? And just out of curiosity, does anyone know about how much difference in cost the energy star rated ones compare with the costs of operating non-energy star rated ones? Thanks for your help!

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Comments (4)

thull
19 years ago
We have a 70-pint Kenmore. I basically went with it because it was rated well in Consumer Reports. Noise-wise, it depends on how you run it. Running continuously, it's a bit louder than an old dorm-sized fridge (and it sounds similar). The Kenmores also have the ability to put in a humidity setpoint, and then it only kicks on above that. I don't have an answer on your capacity question- I went with the largest capacity b/c I was drying out a wet crawlspace. As for the Energy Star rating- check energystar.gov to see the performance requirements. Unless it's 2-3x the cost, I'd go with the Energy Star one, especially if it's going to get long-term use.
mikie_gw
19 years ago
fwiw
I bought a couple of dehumidifiers off ebay at around $100 each delivered towards the end of last summer. New units.
One each, 45pt Fedders and 65pt Maytag - Which are identical units made by the same china man, excpt for the capacity. They are about as noisy as the more quieter small window portable ac units.

Those things are both energy star rated around 1.77pt/kwh @ 60%/80F.

Did some testing with a kwh meter and measuring the water output of both.

Going from memory, not exact but close;
The 45pt unit @ 50%/80F is about 1pt/kwh. [about .7pt/kwh@45%/80F]-[.5pt/kwh@40%/80F]
The 65pt unit @ 50%/80F is about 1.44pt/kwh.

Bigger one certainly doesnt run as often nor as long in the same area. Keeping it mostly at around 50%/79F it uses about 3kwh's per day here, which works out to costing about $12 monthly on the power bill.
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bama_dude
19 years ago
hoosiergirl,try these guys.I have used several of their machines.They are built well.You can use a ducted model and remove the noise from your living or work area.http://www.thermastor.com/
hoosiergirl
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks, Thull, Mikie and Bama_dude.

Bama_dude, we're at the end of a new home build and money's pretty tight, so we'll probably go with a portable, but thanks for your input!

Mikie, if I followed your math (which is not my strong suit), it would be better to go with a larger unit. Thanks for all the work involved!

Thull, I looked at Consumer Search and they had some recommendations, but it also looks like models are changed very often. I agree it'll probably be best to go with an energy star model.

Thanks again!