How much does it cost to run a dehumidifier over winter?

It’s hard to avoid the damp over winter. Opening windows makes your home cold, ventilation systems are expensive and not always effective, and disposable moisture-absorbing products can end up being quite costly in the long run.

A dehumidifier is a convenient and effective damp control option, but how much do they really cost to run?

Need a dehumidifier?

We’ve assessed the performance, ease of use, and running costs of 23 dehumidifiers.

See the results

Types of dehumidifier

There are two types of dehumidifiers: desiccant and refrigerant (compressor).

Desiccant dehumidifiers suck the damp air through a rotating disk that contains a moisture-absorbing material. Refrigerant models use similar tech to what’s in heat pumps and fridges, condensing damp air and collecting it in a tank.

Desiccant dehumidifiers use more energy and so are more expensive to run, but they do have one advantage over refrigerant models – they are much more effective at temperatures below 12 °C.

Can a dehumidifier reduce my heating costs?

Yes it can! Damp air requires more energy to heat and takes longer to heat up. Damp air can also make you feel colder, so reducing humidity can increase comfort levels in your home, which means you might use the heating less too.

And don’t forget the health benefits of a drier home with less condensation on the windows and no mould growing on the walls!

Running costs from our tests

When we test dehumidifiers in our lab, we record the amount of electricity used and then calculate a daily running cost, based on running the model for 8 hours at an average electricity cost of 32 cents per kWh. The chart below presents the 6 month running costs and the overall test performance scores for current tested models. Models are ordered based on performance score, ranging from lowest on the left to highest on the right.

6 month running costs for dehumidifiers, running 8 hours per day