We are well into the dehumidifier 'season' now and most of our phone calls tend to be from many of you with condensation problems wondering which dehumidifier will suit you best.
Choosing a home dehumidifier has got slightly more 'muddled' in the last couple of years due to the arrival of the new ' Dessicant' or 'Adsorption' dehumidifiers which claim to be greener and more efficient than the conventional compressor type units that we have all been used for the past umpteen years.
Whats the Difference?
Standard compressor dehumidifiers utilise a compressor and refrigerant to collect the moisture. This type of arrangement is also used in fridges and air conditioners and is very effective.
The new Dessicant Dehumidifiers utilise a moisture adsorbing gel instead of refrigerant and compressor. The gel inside the dehumidifier gets laden with the moisture from the room and this then gets passed over a small heater element which re-dries the gel thus releasing the collected moisture into the water tank for you to empty when it fills up.
Benefits? Drawbacks?
Compressor dehumidifiers collect most of their moisture when the room is warm. The colder your room gets, the less moisture the compressor type dehumidifier collects.
The dessicant dehumidifiers continue to collect the same amount of moisture from the air regardless of the room temperature. This means as well as being great for your home, they are especially ideal for use in places which are often unattended ( and unheated ), such as garages, workshops, caravans, boats. holiday homes etc.
Dessicant dehumidifiers tend to be much lighter too, around half the weight of a comparable compressor type unit.
Ok, thats the benefits, but what about the drawbacks?, well the main trade off is in the power consumption. You can find that some dessicant units use almost twice as much power as their compressor counterparts. However, their increased efficiency ( they are on full power less often because they do their job more efficiently ) usually offsets this. Also dessicant units tend to re-introduce much warmer air back into the room than other types and therefore your normal household heating is not having to be on as much!
Best Ones?
The best value dessicant dehumidifier is probably the X-Dry which is a fantastic machine, but tests show the DD122Mk111 is every bit as good and costs less too!
The following page has a great list of dehumidifiers of both types and don't forget, you only have to call for good impartial advice.
View all Dehumidifiers
Thursday 13 November 2008
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