One of the most important aspects to consider when buying a dehumidifier is its size. I’m not talking about its physical size, but its capacity and effectiveness at removing excess moisture although the two usually go hand in hand. Maybe you need a dehumidifier for your basement or bedroom? Perhaps you’re trying to eradicate mold and mildew in the crawl space of your home? Of course, all of these rooms in your home generally differ in size, so on this page of my site (as you might have guessed) I’m going to focus on how to find the right size dehumidifier. Like I said the term “size” does not apply to the dimensions of a dehumidifier, but rather its capacity or how many pints of water it’s capable of removing from the air during a 24 hour period. The ones that have larger capacities do tend to be a bit bulkier, but it’s not a hard and fast rule. The capacity is usually given out for a specific number of square feet. Unless you skipped elementary school, measuring the square footage of your home shouldn’t be a problem.

If the room in which you want to place the dehumidifier in is 30 feet long and 10 feet wide, this works out at 300 square feet. Check out this table. It should give you some idea about the capacity and how it relates to the size of the room, or basement. These numbers were established by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM):heat pump unit making noise The numbers above are (as said), from AHAM but it’s a bit different in real life. tax credit for new ac units 2013For example, dehumidifiers that are able to collect up to 30 pints of water per day are very common on the market. replace or repair hvac unitThis size is ideal for homes or areas of up to 2,000 square feet, provided the space you’re treating is moderately damp.

If you plan on using it in your basement, the number will drop slightly since basements are more humid. A 30-pint dehumidifier is suitable for basements and crawl spaces of up to 1,500 square feet. 40 to 50-pint dehumidifiers tend to fall somewhere in the middle of the range as far as capacity is concerned. Again, they are suitable for spaces up to 2,000 square feet in size much like the 30-pint units. However, these are more suitable if the room or basement is really damp with clear signs of excess moisture such as musty odors, damp stains and visible mold growth. The largest home dehumidifiers can collect up to 60 or 70 pints of fluid in a single day, and they are suitable for homes, basements, or crawl spaces larger than 2,000 square feet regardless of the conditions and level of humidity. There are some less important factors to consider as well such as fan speed or the number of people living in the house, but you should always measure the space and check out the capacity of the dehumidifier first.

Finally, you need to check out the damage you already have due to humidity. Only then can you decide which size dehumidifier you really need. Of course, it’s always wise to have some extra dehumidifying power at your disposal (just in case).Dehumidifiers have become an essential appliance for homes and offices. In addition to keeping you comfortable, a dehumidifier can also prevent serious damage to your home that can be caused by excessive humidity in the air.Humidity is often compared to the muggy, steamy-room feeling that you sometimes get on a summer day. When most people express concern over humidity levels, they're talking about relative humidity. The air can hold a fixed amount of water vapor - depending on its temperature. Relative humidity is the ratio of actual water vapor currently in the air compared to the total amount it can hold. High humidity can have several bad effects on your body including:If you think excessive humidity is rough on your body, you should see what it can do to your home!

If the humidity levels in your home are high, it can affect the structural integrity of the building. If your home seems to be suffering from any of the aforementioned symptoms, then you may need a dehumidifier. Dehumidifiers are household appliances that help to reduce the humidity levels in the air. Dehumidifiers work by pulling in the moist air from a room, and then removing the moisture from the air before recirculating it back into the room. In effect, through this process, a dehumidifier will lower the humidity level in your home or office. Some more modern dehumidifiers have additional features and functions, including a humidistat.Humidistats can detect the level of humidity in a room, and allow you to program your dehumidifier to only run when the humidity in a room reaches a specific level. There are also many different sizes and of dehumidifiers available, so it's important to know what size dehumidifier you need. The two most important factors when deciding on a dehumidifier are capacity and air flow volume.

The size of a dehumidifier is generally based on the amount of moisture extracted from the air in a 24 hour period. Typically, this capacity is measured in pints. Dehumidifiers with a higher capacity can remove moisture from a larger room in a shorter amount of time than units with a smaller capacity. The size of the room you need to dehumidify and the amount of moisture in the air generally will determine the size and capacity of the dehumidifier needed. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers has developed recommended capacity and sizing guidelines based on these factors. AHAM Dehumidifier Sizing Guidelines - Room Size vs. Current Humidity Conditions Condition Without Dehumidification Moderately Damp with Musty Odors in Humid Weather Very Damp with Odors and Damp Spots on Walls and Floors Very Wet with Sweating Walls and/or Seepage Extremely Wet with Wet Floors and High-Load Conditions Another measure that can determine the size of dehumidifier you need is the amount of air the appliance can move over a certain period of time.

Dehumidifiers measure this in cubic feet per minute, or CFM. CFM is an important measure for dehumidifiers because the unit can only extract moisture from the air that passes through the dehumidifier. In essence, all the air in your room must flow through your dehumidifier in order for the moisture to be removed. The recommended CFM needed is calculated based on the square footage of the room and the humidity level in the area. The size of the room determines how much air - in cubic feet - needs to pass through the dehumidifier. The level of moisture in the air tells you how many times the air in your room should cycle through the dehumidifier every hour. This is known as Air Changes per Hour, or ACH. The higher the relative humidity in your room, the more often the air should cycle through your dehumidifier, or the higher ACH needed. By estimating the amount of humidity in the air, you should be able to find the recommended ACH: To calculate the CFM you need from your dehumidifier, simply multiply the cubic feet of the room by the recommended ACH, and then divide that number by 60 minutes.