Dehumidifiers - do they use much power?

[Rollerball]

How much electricity does a small, portable dehumidifier use? More than a fridge or freezer? (I use these as a comparison as, I believe, a dehumidifier is basically a kind of fridge operating in reverse ........... well, kind of. I think).

 

[Burnerman]

You are absolutely right, they work on the fridge principle allowing moist air to freeze on the cooling elements. The cooling then switches off, allowing ice to thaw and run into a collecting vessel.
A small domestic machine is rated between 200 and 250 watts.
John

 

[zipper]

http://www.meaco.com/products.asp?cat=9

 

[Rollerball]

You are absolutely right, they work on the fridge principle allowing moist air to freeze on the cooling elements. The cooling then switches off, allowing ice to thaw and run into a collecting vessel.
A small domestic machine is rated between 200 and 250 watts.
John

Thanks. Is that about the same as a fridge or even a chest freezer?

 

[Leccy758]

They use more power than a fridge or freezer as they run all the time to extract moisture (either on fan and defrost cycle or dehumidifying cycle)

A fridge or freezer will switch off when it reaches temp then stay off till it warms up again so when the door is shut it will rarely be running once it has got to temp (as long as the seal is good)

There is a different method of extracting moisture as well though. Dessicant dehumidifiers

I dont know how much power they use (supposed to be less than traditional types) but they have no refrigeration unit.

Had one of these in for repair

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prem-I-Air-...6?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1289513712&sr=1-6

 

[Rollerball]

Ah, I see.

So if running for 12 hours a day, how much electric would a dehumidifier use, and how does that equate to cost?

 

[Burnerman]

Not too far off....any dehumidifier needs to run 24/7 to be effective, but the higher the ambient temperature the better they perform. If the temp is below 12 deg for example, they will extract hardly any moisture from the air.
John