As we think about summer home energy use, one appliance working hard in the basement is the dehumidifier. Muggy weather, rainstorms, and lack of air conditioning combine to create damp conditions and that tell-tale musty odor.
However, not all homes require the same capacity unit. The Energy Star program provides a useful table to help you determine the humidity level of your basement and the capacity level (pints of water removed per day) you will need. A built-in humidistat allows the appliance to cycle off when the optimum relative humidity (RH) is reached (between 30-50%). If your unit does not enable you to set the RH level, you can monitor it with a separate hygrometer hung near the dehumidifier and adjust manually.
Energy efficiency in dehumidifiers is determined by the number of liters of water removed per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy consumed or L/kWh, and many of us need a real workhorse. Luckily, plenty of Energy Star rated models are available, all listed on their website with data on both energy efficiency and water removal capacity. In fact, they say, “the annual energy saved by one of these models could power your ENERGY STAR certified refrigerator for nearly two months.”
Read the entire Good Energy Newsletter, Summer 2022