The Consumer Council conducted another dehumidifier test in 2018 (click to view the Consumer Council’s 2016 test and expert dehumidifier buying tips). This test also covered 14 dehumidifiers, including 13 compressor-type dehumidifiers and 1 desiccant-type dehumidifier, with retail prices ranging from $1,799 to $5,990.
Dehumidification Capacity Test Environment
As dehumidifier performance varies depending on environmental factors, the most obvious ones are humidity and temperature. For example, in more humid and warmer conditions, a dehumidifier will perform more strongly, so the measured dehumidification capacity will also be higher. Conversely, when dehumidifying in dry weather, it is difficult for a dehumidifier to deliver its ideal performance, and the dehumidification capacity will naturally be lower. Therefore, the figures generally provided by manufacturers are measured under hot and humid conditions, and may not fully match the actual environment in Hong Kong. This test also used more environments than the 2016 test. In addition to the original manufacturer environment and standard environment, a low-temperature environment was added. The 3 environments were as follows:
- Manufacturer environment: temperature 30℃, relative humidity 80%
- Standard environment: temperature 26.7℃, relative humidity 60%
- Low-temperature environment: temperature 20℃, relative humidity 60%
Dehumidification Capacity Test Results
Under the environment commonly used by manufacturers, the dehumidification capacity of the 14 dehumidifiers ranged from 10.1 litres to 33.59 litres. Among them, 3 models had dehumidification capacities more than 10% lower than their claims, namely
- German Pool DHM-620 (manufacturer figure: 40 litres of water extraction; Consumer Council test: 33.59 litres of water extraction, a difference of 16%)
- Deer DD2161 (manufacturer figure: 16 litres of water extraction; Consumer Council test: 12.93 litres of water extraction, a difference of 19%)
- De'Longhi DEX 16F (manufacturer figure: 13.92 litres of water extraction; Consumer Council test: 10.1 litres of water extraction, a difference of 27%)
The Consumer Council also mentioned that 2 dehumidifiers, when measured at a temperature of 32 degrees (higher than the manufacturer environment) and relative humidity of 80%, had dehumidification capacities that were respectively 13.7% and 34.8% lower than the manufacturers’ figures. As for the low-temperature environment, the dehumidification capacity of the compressor-type samples was lower than under the standard environment, by about 30% on average.
Desiccant Dehumidifier Performance Is Stable but Dehumidification Capacity Is Low
The desiccant-type sample tested by the Consumer Council performed relatively steadily under the 3 environments, but its dehumidification capacity was clearly lower than that of compressor-type dehumidifiers, at only 4.67 litres to 4.93 litres.
Dehumidifiers with Better Ratings in the Test
In this Consumer Council test, the models that received better ratings included KDK GCM33H (made in Taiwan, $5980), Mitsubishi Electric MJ-E130AL-H (made in Japan, $5030), Hitachi RD-250EX (made in China, $5180), and Whirlpool DS240NT (made in China, $4398), extracting an average of 4.22 litres, 3.72 litres, 3.36 litres and 3.22 litres per kWh respectively.
The Consumer Council also estimated the annual electricity cost required for the 14 dehumidifiers. Based on 450 hours of use per year and $1.2 per kWh, the electricity cost of each sample ranged from 94 dollars to 218 dollars.
Want to learn more dehumidifier buying tips, as well as the Consumer Council’s 2016 test results? View Dehumidifier Recommendations and Comparison 2018.
