Having a dehumidifier in your home can help in many ways. The appliance can ensure mold and mildew don’t grow in your home while also protecting your home against water damage, allergens, and more. However, the question of how much does it cost to run a dehumidifier will always come up.
The average answer is $25 per month, approximate values according to most dehumidifier consumers in the US. However, yours might be lower or higher than this depending on the size of your dehumidifier, how much power the unit draws, how long you run it during the day, and how much your local utility company charges per kWh.
All these factors will play a huge role in determining the total cost of power you will be paying end month. So, continue reading to determine how they affect the overall cost and what you can do to keep the bill minimal.
How to Estimate the Cost of Running a Dehumidifier
Running a dehumidifier (an electrical appliance) requires you to budget more about how much you pay towards the power bills end month. And while you can wait end month to get the utility bill, the billing document doesn’t pinpoint how much power every appliance in your home consumes.
So, it’d be best to get an estimate of how much more you can expect to be paying after installing a dehumidifier. Here is a breakdown of every factor involved in determining the cost of running a dehumidifier.
Dehumidifier’s wattage/1000 = dehumidifier’s wattage in kWh
Running time x hours the dehumidifier is run per day x 30 days = dehumidifier running time per month
Dehumidifier’s power usage (kWh) x Monthly dehumidifier’s running time x price for a kWh unit = total cost of running a dehumidifier
Cost of Running a Dehumidifier Calculator
How much power does the dehumidifier consume?
The dehumidifier power rating indicates the amount of energy the appliance will draw from the utility line every time you power it on.
Typically, you’ll find this information on a sticker on the unit front cover, especially if you’re using an Energy Star rated dehumidifier. You can also get the info at the back of the appliance, typically near where the electrical cord enters the casing.
The good news is, dehumidifiers don’t consume much power compared to other superior devices you may have in your home. A small mini dehumidifier capable of dehumidifying 290 square footage requires around 36 watts of power, while a whole-house 70-pint dehumidifier can draw over 960 watts of power.
If the information isn’t provided in watts, you will have to do some calculations. Take the voltage rating and the amperage and multiply them together. For example, Aprilaire - 1850Z 1850 Pro Dehumidifier operating current is 8.0 amps and requires 115-volts AC. So, its power rating is;
115VAC x 8.0 A = 920 watts
However, this is the operating wattage; the starting wattage stands at 1850 watts. But that shouldn’t concern you much unless you’ll be running the unit with a generator. So, check what your dehumidifier needs as you will need it in the next section.
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How long do you run the dehumidifier in a day?
Power usage is calculated in kWh, which stands for kilowatt-hour. That means you need to know how long you run a dehumidifier during the day.
If you live in a high-humidity area or try to get the humidity level from 90% to 50%, you need to run the dehumidifier 24/7 until you achieve the ideal results. But if you’re dealing with water damage in your home, you might only need to run it 24 hours a day for a couple of days until the area is dry. For normal home dehumidification, 6-hours a day is enough.
The best part is, today’s dehumidifiers have an automatic starting system that works with an onboard thermostat. When the ideal humidity level is achieved, it will shut off and wait for the condition to deteriorate. That means you only need to plug it in, set the desired humidity level and leave it to do its works.
From our example above, let’s assume you will be running a 920-watt dehumidifier 24 hours a day; the amount of power it will consume would be;
(920 /1000) kW x 24 hours = 22.08 kWh per day (You convert the dehumidifier wattage to kilowatts by 1000 is to convert watts to kilowatts as seen here)
How much power does the dehumidifier consume in kWh/month?
Once you get how many hours you run the dehumidifier daily, multiply this value by 30 days to get the power consumption in kWh per month.
From our example above, let’s assume you will run the dehumidifier for 24 hours for 30 days, it will consume;
22.08 kWh x 30 days = 662.4 kWh per month
How much does a utility company charge for kWh?
Electric companies are different from state to state and country to country. That means how much you’re charged per kWh in Arizona is different from the cost of a kWh in Texas. You can take your last month’s energy bill and check how much you were charged.
But remember, the charges may change a bit in the next month’s bill. It may rise or fall depending on the national government price changes. Additionally, there are times when the utility company will need a charger higher than normal, called peak hours. Those are times when most people around your area consume the highest amount of power, mostly because of running high-power consuming appliances.
The lowest price noted is 5.16 cents, and the highest is 20.78 cents. Check out utility prices in all the states for the month of October 2021 here.
What’s the total cost of running a dehumidifier?
Now, to calculate the amount of money you will incur by running a dehumidifier, determine the operating wattage of your dehumidifier and convert it to kilowatt by dividing by 1000. Next, get the number of hours you will be running it daily and multiply it by 30 days to get the monthly hours.
Get the amount charged by the utility company for a kWh unit. Multiply the three values to estimate the total cost you will incur end month.
- Dehumidifier’s wattage/1000 = dehumidifier’s wattage in kWh
- Running time x hours the dehumidifier is run per day x 30 days = dehumidifier running time per month
- Dehumidifier’s power usage (kWh) x Monthly dehumidifier’s running time x price for a kWh unit = total cost of running a dehumidifier
From our example: assuming you’re running a 920-watt dehumidifier in Arizona (where they charged 12.83 cents per kWh in October 2021) for 24 hours a day for the next 30 days, the cost of running it would be;
920 watts/1000 = 0.92 kW
24 hours/day x 30 days = 720 hours in a month
0.92 kW x 720 hours x $0.1283 = $84.98592
For a normal dehumidifier usage: Assuming you’re running a 300-watt dehumidifier in Arizona for 6 hours a day for the next 30 days, your total cost would be;
(300 watts/1000) x (24 hours/day x 30 days) x $0.1283 = $6.9282
As you can see, how much it will cost you to run your dehumidifier will depend on the size of your dehumidifier, amount of hours you will run it during the month, and the cost of the kWh unit in your state.
Related Questions
Is it necessary to run a dehumidifier the whole day?
No! There is no need to run your dehumidifier the whole day unless you’re dealing with water damage and mold restoration or extremely high (wet) humidity condition. Remember, you don’t have to be concerned much if you have a modern dehumidifier with an onboard thermostat. Such models can shut themselves off when they achieve the ideal humidity range. They automatically turn themselves on the humidity levels above the set ideal range.
