Dehumidifiers for basements are any unit which you can use in a basement. Sounds simple but that means almost any unit that you might use in any room of the house.
A portable room dehumidifier is fine for a room in your house. If your basement is a "room" in your house you can use an ordinary unit with confidence. But what is meant here by a "room". It means a space that is room-sized, not a vast area of 2000 square feet or more. It also means a space that is typically at "room" temperature, more specifically, at least 60F degrees. Let's take each of these two in turn.
If your basement is so large that it needs more than a single room dehumidifier to control the humidity comfortably it would be cheaper for you to use a basement dehumidifier. We will return to that point later.
If the temperature in your basement is below 60F degrees for long periods, such as during winter in many places, a room dehumidifier is totally inadequate and will be a waste of money.
Room dehumidifiers condense water on cold coils. At temperatures from about 65F degrees and downward ice forms on these coils. Most units have an "auto-defrost" function which allows them to operate at temperatures as low as 41F degrees. You might be misled into thinking this means they are suitable for cold places. They are not.
Auto-defrost detects ice formation, stops the compressor and thereby suspends the refrigeration process so the coils are no longer being cooled. The fan keeps running and the ambient air melts the ice. It will be obvious that ice forms more often when the air is cooler. It will also be obvious that the cooler the ambient air the longer it will take to melt that ice.
A moment's t hought tells us that the cooler the air the longer the time that the compressor will be switched off. A point will quickly be reached when the appliance is spending more time in defrost mode than it is dehumidifying. The bottom line is that a room dehumidifier is only partially effective below 60F and all but useless below 55F.
So, if dehumidifiers for basements are not Basement Dehumidifiers what is a Basement Dehumidifier?
A Basement Dehumidifier is made to commercial standards. It is tougher, more durable and much more energy efficient than a room dehumidifier. Due to the high quality and larger size of its main components it can operate more effectively in lower temperatures. In cool temperatures it will remove up to three times as much water from the air as the room type with the same nominal capacity. Most basement units can be configured for ducted operation, which enables much more efficient operation in larger spaces; ordinary room models can not. Last, but not least, a basement dehumidifier will last much longer.
But, I hear you say, a Basement Dehumidifier is so expensive, often more than $1000. Quite right, but consider these factors.
The life-time cost of any of these appliances is more than twice its purchase cost and most of the additional cost is for energy.
A Basement Dehumidifier will run for fewer hours per day to control humidity in a given area and remove more water per energy dollar spent.
A room model may run continuously, especially in cooler temperatures, and still struggle to control humidity.
Room models are less durable than basement units so you can expect to have to buy at least one replacement in the life-time of a single basement appliance. Because the room unit is running for more hours it will wear out more quickly still, so we are probably looking at two replacements, at least. Even at a ticket price of as little as $200 per roo m model this is starting to make $1000 dollars look a tad more reasonable.
The Basement Dehumidifier will use less energy than a typical, 70 pint room unit. At lower temperatures the energy efficiency advantage of the Basement Dehumidifier is even greater. $1000 is starting to look like a bargain price.
Returning to warm but large basements. If your warm basement is so large that it takes two room dehumidifiers to keep it dry your outlay will be for those two machines and at least a further two that you will certainly have to buy as replacements during a five year period.
Because the Basement Dehumidifier is so much more more energy efficient, it will cost less to run on an annual basis (cost of unit + cost of energy divided by the number of years in operation) than the several room appliances you bought instead. This would be true even if the Basement Dehumidifier only lasted say, five years, and most last much longer than that.
So, next time you see room dehumidifiers advertised as "dehumidifiers for basements" I suggest you ask yourself "is my basement a 'room'?". If the answer is "No" a Basement Dehumidifier will cost you less every time.
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