To give you the best idea of a dehumidifiers performance we will be conducting a dehumidifier test each month during the winter months. All results will be displayed below.
Where We Will Test Dehumidifiers
Most dehumidifiers will be used in standard 3 bedroom homes so that is exactly where we will test them. By placing the dehumidifiers in various points around the house we will test both heated and unheated areas so that you arem ore knowledgable when buying a dehumidifier.
We will also bring the dehumidifiers out to the shed for some outdoor testing.
What We Will Test For
We will test for the following levels;
- Temperatures
- Humidity Levels
- Extraction Rate
- Power Usage
- Operating Volume
The temperature and humidity levels will be taken at the start and end of each session. Power usage and operating volume will be tested in different fan settings.
Test Equipment
Which Dehumidifiers Will Be Used 
The following dehumidifiers were kindly donated for these tests by the relevant company;
- Home treats Portable Dehumidifier
- Home Treats Portable 12L Dehumidifier
- Meaco 12L Low Energy Dehumidifier
- Meaco DD8L Compact Dehumidifier
- Meaco DD8L Zambezi Dehumidifier
- Meaco 25L Low Energy Dehumidryer
- Unibond Aero 360 Moisture Absorber
Important Notes
It is important to bear in mind that our results will probably differ from your results a little. This is due to the differences in construction of our houses plus your climate might be a little different from our climate.
Environmental factors such as wind direction which alters the vortex over your house also plays a part in how hard a dehumidifier has to work.
What We Expect To Find
Firstly, we expect the desiccant dehumidifiers to extract closer to their stated extraction rates than compressor dehumidifiers. We also expect desiccant units to show a more even extraction rate over the test period.
Secondly, we also expect desiccant dehumidifiers to perform better in unheated areas such as the upstairs bedrooms and the shed outside. Compressor units could perform better in heated rooms.
Basically we expect to find the differences between desiccant and compressor dehumidifiers to be true.
The September Dehumidifier Test
Unibond Aero 360 Moisture Absorber Test
We placed the Unibond Aero on a chest of drawers in a bedroom. Since the test climate will change so often we will monitor how long the Aero 360 refill lasts and if there is any noticable difference in the room.
Home Treats Portable 12L Dehumidifier Test 
Test Period: 1 Hour
Test Room: Kitchen 6m x 3.8m
Fan Setting: High
Start Humidity Level: 68%
End Humidity Level: 65%
Start Temerature: 21°C
End Temperature: 21°C
Power Usage: +- 195 Watts
Volume: +- 54 db(A)
Water Extraction: 100ml
Conclusion: The room was probably too big for the Home Treats Portable 12L Dehumidifier. For a room this size the Home Treats dehumidifier would probably need to run for a longer period of time. The ideal use for this dehumidifier is for a standard sized room measuring approximately 4m x 4m.
Meaco Low Energy 12L Dehumidifier Test
Test Period: 1 Hour
Test Room: Bedroom 4m x 3.8m
Fan Setting: High
Start Humidity Level: 66%
End Humidity Level: 51%
Start Temerature: 21°C
End Temperature: 21°C
Power Usage: +- 278 Watts
Volume: +- 47 db(A)
Water Extraction: 190ml
Conclusion: In the past we have been impressed with the ability of Meaco dehumidifiers to bring down the humidity level in a room fairly rapidly. This test shows a 15% humidity drop in the space of an hour which is a very large drop in such a short amount of time. We will have to test this again in case there was a mistake in the reading.
Meaco Low Energy 12L Dehumidifier Test
Test Period: 1 Hour
Test Room: Shed 3.5m x 2.6m
Fan Setting: High
Start Humidity Level: 67%
End Humidity Level: 67%
Start Temerature: 17°C
End Temperature: 17°C
Power Usage: +- 279 Watts
Volume: +- 47 db(A)
Water Extraction: 210ml
Conclusion: This test is correct as our shed is not sealed. I was expecting some drop in humidity level and will test the shed next with a more powerful dehumidifier to see if I can bring the humidity level down.
The water extraction in the previous test was a little lower probably because the drop in humidity meant that there was less water in the air to be extracted.
More tests coming real soon so stay tuned!
If you have any questions or feedback please let us know in the comments below.
Hello. Do i need to raise a dehumidifier off the floor if i want to use the drain facility or can the unit push the water up to, say, a sink or wc outlet? Thank you
Hi Alan, Most dehumidifiers have a gravity led drain facility so you would need to place the dehumidifier higher than the drainage point. Hope that helps.