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Pick a dehumidifier, the hours it takes to dry a load in your home, and the dryer you would otherwise use. The calculator gives the cost of one load each way, over 26 winter weeks, and the break-even time: the number of hours the dehumidifier can run before it costs more than one dryer cycle.
The assumptions, written out
- Dehumidifier: published watts × your hours × your unit rate. It assumes the compressor runs the whole time, which is what a laundry mode does on the models that describe it (Pro Breeze: "Laundry Mode raises the fan speed and sets dehumidification to maximum", OmniDry 40L page).
- Drying time: 6 hours by default. This is our placeholder, not a measured or published figure: change it to what you see at home.
- Vented dryer: Candy CSO V8DF-80, 8 kg, energy class C, "Annual Energy Consumption 580 kWh, based on 160 drying cycles of the standard cotton programme at full and partial load" (product information sheet). 580 ÷ 160 = 3.63 kWh a cycle on average [calc].
- Heat pump dryers: Logik LHP8W23E, 8 kg, class E, 1.29 kWh weighted per drying cycle; Epoq EHP9W23, 9 kg, class C, 1.05 kWh (EU EPREL database, read November 14, 2026). The two label systems test differently, so compare each with the dehumidifier, not with each other.
- Winter: 26 weeks, our assumption. Standing charges are left out: you pay them either way.
What it means in practice
A vented dryer cycle costs about 95p at the cap rate (3.63 kWh × 26.32p) [calc]. A 151 W dehumidifier such as the Meaco Arete One 12L could run for 24 hours on the same money, and a 270 W Pro Breeze OmniDry 20L for 13.4 hours. Against a heat pump dryer the margin narrows to 8.5 and 4.8 hours: if your washing takes a whole day to dry on an airer, the heat pump dryer can be the cheaper machine.
Two things the money does not show. A dehumidifier also takes the moisture out of the room, which a vented dryer sends outside and a condenser or heat pump dryer keeps in its tank. And the room matters: compressor dehumidifiers lose much of their extraction below about 15°C (see dehumidifiers for cold rooms).
Models that name a laundry mode, cheapest to run first:
| Model | Extraction (as published) | Power | Per hour [calc] | Noise | Tank | Price (Nov 14) | Seller |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meaco Arete One 10L | 10 L/day (30°C, 80% RH) | 151 W | 4.0p | from 35 dB(A) | 2.5 L | £159.99 | Meaco UK store |
| Meaco Arete One 12L | 12 L/day (30°C, 80% RH) | 151 W | 4.0p | from 35 dB(A) | 2.5 L | £179.99 | Meaco UK store |
| Meaco Arete Two 10L | 10 L/day (30°C, 80% RH) | 152 W | 4.0p | from 35 dB(A) | 2.5 L | £179.99 | Meaco UK store |
| Meaco Arete Two 12L | 12 L/day (30°C, 80% RH) | 155 W | 4.1p | from 35 dB(A) | 2.5 L | £194.99 | B&Q |
| Meaco 12L Low Energy | 12 L/day (30°C, 80% RH) | 157 W | 4.1p | from 41 dB(A) | 2.5 L | £177.99 | B&Q |
| Pro Breeze OmniDry 10L | 10 L/day (conditions not published) | 160 W | 4.2p | from 38 dB(A) | 1.7 L | £94.99 | Pro Breeze store |
| Meaco MeacoDry ABC 10L | 10 L/day (30°C, 80% RH) | 165 W | 4.3p | from 36 dB(A) | 2.6 L | £129.99 | Meaco UK store |
| Meaco MeacoDry ABC 12L | 12 L/day (30°C, 80% RH) | 165 W | 4.3p | from 36 dB(A) | 2.6 L | £149.99 | Meaco UK store |
| Pro Breeze OmniDry 12L | 12 L/day (conditions not published) | 180 W | 4.7p | from 36 dB(A) | 2 L | £109.99 | Pro Breeze store |
| EcoAir Summit S | 12 L/day (conditions not published) | 156 to 180 W | 4.7p | from 36 dB(A) | 2 L | £149.94 | EcoAir store |
How we compare: criteria, sources and dates
For a small home, see a dehumidifier for drying clothes in a flat; for every model, the full comparison; for the cost of running it the rest of the time, the running cost calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Is a dehumidifier cheaper than a tumble dryer for drying clothes?
Against a vented dryer, almost always: the Candy CSO V8DF-80 label gives 580 kWh for 160 cycles, about 3.6 kWh a cycle, the same electricity as a 151 W dehumidifier running for 24 hours [calc]. Against a heat pump dryer, it depends on drying time: the Logik LHP8W23E is registered at 1.29 kWh a cycle, which a 151 W dehumidifier uses in 8.5 hours and a 270 W one in 4.8 hours [calc].
How long does a dehumidifier take to dry a load of washing?
None of the product pages we read gives a drying time per load. It depends on the load, the spin speed, the room size and its temperature, so the calculator asks for your own figure (6 hours by default, our assumption). The break-even time tells you how much margin you have.
Where do the dryer figures come from?
From the energy label data: the product information sheet of the Candy CSO V8DF-80 vented dryer (Regulation (EU) 392/2012 label, 580 kWh a year for 160 cycles), and the EU EPREL database for two heat pump dryers sold by Currys (Logik LHP8W23E, 1.29 kWh) and Elkjop (Epoq EHP9W23, 1.05 kWh), weighted energy per drying cycle under Regulation (EU) 2023/2534. You can type the figure from your own dryer's label.