Running cost / Guide

What it costs per day, month and year

The numbers, laid out for every capacity class and every plausible run schedule, so you can find your case without doing any arithmetic.

By Scooter M.

Published September 1, 2026

Last updated September 1, 2026

The short answer

A 50-pint dehumidifier at 488 W costs $1.07 a day, $32.24 a month and $392 a year running 12 hours a day at the US average rate of 18.34 cents per kWh. Over a five-month damp season it is about $161.

Per month, by class and schedule

A wall socket photographed straight on — Your state moves this number more than your choice of machine does.

US average residential rate, 18.34 cents/kWh, 30.44-day month

Class	Median watts	4 h/day	8 h/day	12 h/day	16 h/day	24 h/day
~10 pint	105 W	$2.31	$4.62	$6.93	$9.25	$13.87
~16 pint	167 W	$3.68	$7.35	$11.03	$14.71	$22.06
20-22 pint	258 W	$5.68	$11.36	$17.04	$22.72	$34.08
25 pint	265 W	$5.84	$11.67	$17.51	$23.34	$35.02
30-32 pint	318 W	$7.00	$14.00	$21.00	$28.01	$42.01
35 pint	351 W	$7.73	$15.45	$23.18	$30.91	$46.37
40 pint	401 W	$8.83	$17.66	$26.49	$35.32	$52.98
50 pint	488 W	$10.74	$21.48	$32.24	$42.98	$64.47

Computed as (watts / 1000) x hours x 30.44 x $0.1834. Wattages are class medians from the ENERGY STAR certified list; the rate is the EIA US residential average for June 2026.

Per season, which is the figure that matters

Nobody runs a dehumidifier all year. In most of the US the humid season is roughly May to September - five months - and outside it a compressor unit is either unnecessary or, in an unheated space, barely working.

Five-month season, at the US average rate

Class	8 h/day	12 h/day	24 h/day
20-22 pint	$56.80	$85.20	$170.40
30-32 pint	$70.00	$105.00	$210.05
35 pint	$77.25	$115.90	$231.85
50 pint	$107.40	$161.20	$322.35

Five 30.44-day months. The 24-hour column is what an undersized unit costs, because it never reaches its target and never idles.

Three things that move your number more than the machine does

1Your state. Nevada is 13.11 cents per kWh; Hawaii is 52.72. The same 50-pint unit on the same schedule costs $23.05 a month in one and $92.68 in the other. Rates by state.
2Whether it is correctly sized. Look at the 24-hour column. An undersized 30-pint unit running permanently costs $42 a month - more than a correctly sized 50-pint unit at twelve hours - and the room stays damp. This is the single most expensive mistake in the category.
3How well the space is sealed. A basement window left open or a garage door with a failed bottom seal admits humid air faster than the machine removes it. Sealing costs nothing and reduces run time directly.

Comparisons, for scale

A 50-pint dehumidifier against other household loads

Appliance	Typical draw	Per month at 12 h/day
50-pint dehumidifier	488 W	$32.24
30-pint dehumidifier	318 W	$21.00
Window air conditioner	500-1,500 W	$33.03-$99.10
Thermoelectric mini dehumidifier	Not published, low	A few dollars, for about 1 pint a day

Air conditioner range is the common band for household window units; we have not measured one and the figure is a range rather than a claim about a specific model.

What is not in these numbers

Two things, both worth knowing. A dehumidifier warms the room - essentially all the electricity it uses ends up as heat. In a cool basement that is neutral or mildly helpful. In a room you are also air-conditioning, the air conditioner has to remove that heat, so the true cost of running both is higher than the dehumidifier's own figure.

In the other direction, drier air feels cooler at the same temperature, so a dehumidified room can be comfortable at a higher thermostat setting. Whether that nets out in your favor depends on the room and is not something we can compute for you without measuring it, so we are not going to put a number on it. How a dehumidifier works.

FAQ

Questions

How much does it cost to run a dehumidifier for 24 hours?

A 50-pint unit at 488 W uses 11.7 kWh in 24 hours, which is $2.15 at the US average rate. A 30-pint unit at 318 W uses 7.6 kWh, which is $1.40.

Is it expensive to run a dehumidifier all summer?

A correctly sized 50-pint unit at 12 hours a day for five months is about $161 at the US average rate. In a high-rate state it can be several times that, which is why the state matters more than the model.

Do dehumidifiers use a lot of electricity?

Comparable to a window air conditioner at the low end of its range. A 50-pint unit averages 488 W, which is a meaningful continuous load but not an extreme one.

Should I turn my dehumidifier off at night to save money?

Not usually. On a humidistat it already switches itself off when the room reaches the target. Turning it off manually lets humidity climb back overnight, and it then runs harder in the morning to recover.

Sources