Low energy dehumidifiers worth the investment?

[graybuffalo]

Hi all.

I purchased this dehumidifier on a whim to dry out my work van which had 25L of water spilt in the back. I didn't put much thought into as I was only going to use it for this purpose but I decided to try it out in the living room where I hang up my family of 4's clothing to dry. Wow I was impressed. Checked the washing this morning and it's dry as a bone when usually it will take twice then amount of time to dry and bonus there is no condensation around.

Now I've realised what a fantastic bit of kit a dehumidifier is I'm wondering if I've made the right decision on which one to buy? I'm unsure if it's as energy efficient as similar models or if there is only pennies in it. Considering I'll be using this machine almost daily throughout the colder months I wanted to check I've invested in a good machine. I've looked around and it would seem it's reasonable but would anyone with more knowledge point me in the right direction that whether or not its worth me returning this unit and investing in something else more energy efficient? The room is about 65sqm.

My current machine:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/blyss-wd...4WV5YzGrDRJa_k3JvY4aAtkCEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[keziachristian]

@graybuffalo It uses around 280w so it would cost you in the region of 10-20p per hour to run

 

[graybuffalo]

@keziachristian OK thanks you thats some really good information. Judging from that I should buy a lower wat unit?

Looking through this units specs I can't see a power out put unless I'm mistakes?

https://www.toolstation.com/xpelair...zTWZpItPkaAhGBEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds#full-desc

 

[opsthryl]

@graybuffalo What matters is cost per litre of water extracted. There's no sense in buying another less powerful unit if you;re just going to run it longer to compensate.

 

[graybuffalo]

@opsthryl Absolutely, the current one is sufficient so I'll keep it

 

[julia736]

@graybuffalo I think you'll find the vast majority of compressor dehumidifiers of the same capacity are more or less all equally as efficient.

A 20L dehumidifier may be a little more efficient than a 10L one - it'll draw more current, but dry the room in half the time - but not much so.

Meaco are the main brand-name supplier of dehumidifiers in the UK - if you want to know more about dehumidifiers then read their blog (e.g. 1, 2) or watch some of the videos on their YouTube channel - but they only seem to claim greater efficiency in their premium models by the use of fancy high-tech fan motors, not by doing anything magic.

Compressor dehumidifiers use the same principles as a fridge, pumping refrigerant around in a closed loop, cooling air as it enters the dehumidifier and then warming it again on the way out - it's a very well understood technology, and I bet it's hard to make large efficiency improvements.

Meaco's premium models probably are a bit more efficient, but they're a lot more money, so I'd have to wonder how long they'd take to pay for themselves.

In other words, I'm sure you'll be fine with the dehumidifier you have. It looks very similar to my Seago Smart Dry 2, so probably made by the same OEM.

If you put a meter on the socket you'll probably find it's using a lot less than 280W most of the time - I was really surprised by how little mine was using when I checked it during another thread the other week; closer to 30W, I think.

 

[graybuffalo]

@julia736 Wow thanks..I don't think tbe meaco unit merits the extra money. I'm very impressed by it and wish I had used one years ago

 

[julia736]

@graybuffalo I was the same way.

I live on my boat, and I was on the South Coast of the UK the first year I had it. It was rainy in September or early October and, with living and breathing inside, the condensation was so bad that water was beading on the walls inside the cabin; it got so bad that the paint in the salon started bubbling and I thought I'd ruined it.

I bought the dehumidifier it was substantially dry within a weekend - the bubbles in the paintwork went down and were soon as good as new.

 

[old_orthodoxyusa]

@graybuffalo Your dehumidifier has a humidity sensor control that means it should only come one when the humidity is above the set point you have selected.

See the manual, p40 onwards.

As long as the humidifier is set to turn off when the washing is dry it won't really use any more energy than as lower power unit, the latter will just take longer to dry things. Experiment with the timer and humidity controls.

 

[mjmichaels]

@graybuffalo Think about the cost of the new unit too, not just the energy costs…

 

[godgivenhope]

@graybuffalo Mines 180w for a three bedroom house. It has a laundry setting and is fantastic! It’s a 20 ltr unit, and can extract 2 litres a day.

 

[graybuffalo]

@godgivenhope Great stuff

 

[thanushpoulsen]

@keziachristian That's an overestimate. Current cap is 34p/kWh so 9.5p/hour max. Less if it's not fully on or they're on an older deal.

 

[a1473o]

@keziachristian I have a 340w dehumidifier (bought in 2020, RIP) and it doesn’t seem to cost that much.

I often leave it running over night and use the Bulb app which shows my usage and I can barely tell the difference between nights it is on and nights it isn’t.

 

[tigerangel]

@graybuffalo fun fact: dehumidifiers reduce the ammount of moisture in the air (duh) which actually reduces the energy required to heat it. it can actually save on your gas if you have a thermostat

 

[heartnsoul19]

@tigerangel Can attest that the woodburning stove + dehumidifier combo I'm having to run at my house currently due to a major plumbing issue is extremely potent.

 

[resjudicata]

@graybuffalo We’ve got the Meaco Arete and it’s great at drying clothes and keeping the damp out! https://www.meaco.com/collections/arete

 

[jerklaugh]

@resjudicata Does yours target say an entire floor of a semi house, 3 bed upstairs? Assuming you left the doors open?

 

[resjudicata]

@jerklaugh I live in a 3 bedroom semi detached with two floors. I put it on overnight and the condensation is greatly reduced around the whole house. If I want to dry clothes I put them on a dryer near the Meaco and they’re dry within a few hours when I put it on laundry mode.

 

[jerklaugh]

@resjudicata Interesting! Thanks