Humidity is a tricky issue to have to deal with. It can ruin the integrity of your home’s structure and can even cause major respiratory issues if not taken care of. Many households in humid places own a dehumidifier but how much does it cost to run a dehumidifier 24/7?
It’s difficult to say exactly how much you can expect to pay to run a dehumidifier 24/7. A lot of factors come into play: the unit size and capacity, Energy-star certification, your city utility provider, and personal use. Generally, expect to pay about $58 to $60 for a regular-sized unit. Bigger units can cost up to $100 to run continuously.
If you want to determine a good estimate of how much you would have to pay, check on your unit’s power usage and how much your city provider charges per kWh.
How Much Does It Cost to Run a Dehumidifier 24/7?
Dehumidifiers are a wonderful appliance you can add to your home to make your family’s space more comfortable and livable.
Not every home would need a dehumidifier, especially if you live somewhere with a drier climate and air. But people who live in humid climates and areas might find a dehumidifier a necessity.
A too-humid environment can cause a plethora of issues not only to your house and its structure but also to the health of its inhabitants. Excess humidity is known to cause mold and mildew; damage to the walls, floors, and furniture; and could trigger asthma, allergies, and other respiratory issues.
Households situated in humid climates have their own dehumidifier systems to counter these effects. But many may still be wondering how much it could cost to run one 24/7 to maintain optimal humidity levels.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how much it could cost to run a dehumidifier nonstop for an entire day because a lot of factors come into play. These factors lead to varying results that differ per state, city, and household.
But generally speaking, you can calculate and gauge the cost of running your humidifier by multiplying the power usage of the appliance by the kilowatt-hour rate of your utility company provider.
On average, running a dehumidifier 24/7, aka not shutting it off, can cost around $58 to $60 per month. And that’s assuming that your dehumidifier runs on low-wattage energy consumption.
Of course, bigger units will cost more, which could typically cost one household around a whopping additional $100 on their monthly electricity bills.
But then again, these numbers are only rough gauges. The actual increase in your monthly electricity bills for running a dehumidifier 24/7 would vary greatly depending on a variety of factors.
Factors Affecting Dehumidifier Costs
It’s pretty hard to pinpoint exactly how much it could cost you to run your dehumidifier as you see fit due to varying factors that could greatly affect it. Here is what could affect your home’s dehumidifier costs:
Dehumidifier size and capacity
Dehumidifier capacity is typically measured in pints. The pints of a dehumidifier will tell you the amount of water it can remove from the air in a 24-hour period.
The smaller the size and capacity of a dehumidifier is, the lower the costs are to run it. At the same time, the bigger the size and capacity of a humidifier, the more energy it consumes, and the more you would have to pay to run it constantly.
Typically, dehumidifiers can range from 20-pint, 30-pint, 50-pint, and 70-pint. Still, there are units that can be smaller or bigger than these examples.
Depending on the capacity, a unit’s power usage would also vary.
For example, a 30-pint dehumidifier uses about 300 watts of power while a 50-pint unit uses about 500 watts to run. You can usually find your unit’s power usage in the included information and manual pocket.
Energy efficient dehumidifiers
Energy-star certified dehumidifiers are energy-efficient models and typically use lower power. Most times, an energy-efficient dehumidifier can lessen up to 15% of the energy costs used to run a single unit. This can significantly lower your energy consumption and monthly bill.
City and utility provider
Different cities and utility providers have different energy costs used per kilowatt-hour. Where you live and how much your provider charges would cause great variations in how much you end up paying for energy cost and electricity costs.
Texas, for example, is quite humid which encourages many households to have their own dehumidifiers. According to the latest stats from electricrate.com, the average electric rate as of June 2023 in Texas is 14.20 cents per kWh.
With this in mind, a typical 30-pit dehumidifier can generally cost around 4.26 cents per hour. Multiply this by a 24-hour run and it could cost you around 102.24 cents per day.
Depending on where you live and your electricity provider, this varies greatly.
Personal usage
How often you turn on and use your humidifier will affect how much it will cost in your monthly bills. The more frequently you use it, the more you can expect to pay for it. And the less you use your unit, the less it will add up to your bills.
Do I Need to Run My Dehumidifier 24/7?
You don’t really need to run your dehumidifier for 24 hours straight. Some would suggest about 10 to 12 hours of runtime is enough to solve humidity issues but some places would require 24-hour use to combat major issues.
With modern innovations, there are units with timer settings or built-in hygrometers to measure room humidity. You can set target humidity levels and the system will automatically turn off once it reaches that level.
Do Dehumidifiers Use a Lot of Electricity?
Yes, they do. Especially when you run them constantly i.e. 24/7.
When you look at the numbers we presented above, they might not seem much – and they’re not, really – but constant and longer use could substantially add to your monthly bills so be mindful of your usage.
Conclusion
Excess humidity can be annoying. It not only affects the structure of your home but can also cause respiratory issues. You may be wondering, how much does it cost to run a dehumidifier 24/7?
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how much it would cost you to run your dehumidifier unit all day. A lot of factors come into play including the unit size and capacity, Energy-star certification, your city’s utility provider, and your home’s use. Ultimately, it can be estimated to cost around $58 to $60 a month, and that’s assuming it’s normal-sized. Bigger sizes can cost up to $100.
To determine roughly how much you will pay for running your humidifier, always check the unit’s power usage and how much your provider charges per kWh.
