Cost to run a dehumidifier
A dehumidifier drawing 500 W costs 13.2p for each hour of running at 26.32p/kWh. Used 6 hours a day, every day, that comes to £24.02 a month.
An hour of running costs
13.2p an hour
That is 0.5 kWh. Used as set, it comes to £24.02 a month and £288.20 a year.
On the label or in the manual.
Standby, thermostats and off-peak use
A thermostat switches it on and off to hold a temperature. 100% if it runs flat out.
Drawn while plugged in and not running.
| Period | Cost | Energy | CO2e |
|---|---|---|---|
| An hour of running | 13.2p | 0.5 kWh | 109 g |
| A day, on average | 79p | 3.00 kWh | 652 g |
| A month | £24.02 | 91.3 kWh | 19.8 kg |
| A year | £288.20 | 1,095 kWh | 238 kg |
How we calculated this
Energy is power multiplied by time: 500 W running for an hour uses 0.5 kWh.
The typical and low figures are the average rating Centre for Sustainable Energy gives for a dehumidifier, and the high figure is the rating in Virginia Tech’s table. A dehumidifier with a humidistat switches itself off once the air is dry enough, so it draws its rating only part of the time.
The starting use for a dehumidifier, 6 hours a day, every day, is where the calculator starts, not a measurement of your home: change it to how you use yours. A day is the average across the week, and a month is a twelfth of a 365-day year.
Electricity costs 26.32p/kWh. That is the published figure for the United Kingdom, 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2026, from Ofgem. Average for England, Scotland and Wales, paying by Direct Debit. No VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Standing charges are left out: you pay them whether or not the appliance runs.
Emissions use 0.217 kg CO2e per kWh, the lifecycle intensity of electricity generated in the United Kingdom in 2025, from Ember, via Our World in Data. Lifecycle means building the power stations and supplying their fuel are counted too. It is the grid’s average, not the particular power station an extra appliance brings on.
What drives the cost
A dehumidifier draws 500 W while its compressor runs, and it can run for hours, so what it costs depends on how damp the room is and how long it takes to dry. At 6 hours a day, every day, a dehumidifier costs £288.20 a year; a humidistat that switches it off when the air is dry cuts that.
Also called: damp remover, moisture remover.
What it costs in the UK, Europe and the US
For a dehumidifier used as typical (6 hours a day, every day), at each country’s published average electricity price.
| Country | Electricity price | An hour |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 26.32p/kWh | 13.2p |
| United States (average) | 18.19¢/kWh | 9.1¢ |
| Ireland | €0.4042/kWh | €0.20 |
| Germany | 0,3869 €/kWh | 0,19 € |
| France | 0,2561 €/kWh | 0,13 € |
| Spain | 0,2669 €/kWh | 0,13 € |
| Italy | 0,2966 €/kWh | 0,15 € |
| Netherlands | € 0,2558/kWh | € 0,13 |
Compared with similar appliances
| Appliance | Typical power | An hour | A year, typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dehumidifier | 500 W | 13.2p | £288.20 |
| Ceiling fan | 17.3 W | 0.46p | £7.09 |
| Extractor fan | 17.2 W | 0.45p | £1.65 |
How to spend less on it
- Use the humidistat, if it has one, so it switches off once the room is dry instead of running all day.
- Shut the doors and windows of the room while it runs: it dries the air in the room, and open windows let damp air in.
- Find where the damp comes from: drying washing indoors, or a leak, and fix that so the dehumidifier has less to do.
Questions
How much does a dehumidifier cost to run per hour?
At 26.32p/kWh, a dehumidifier drawing 500 W costs 13.2p for every hour of running at full power.
How much does a dehumidifier cost to run a year?
Used 6 hours a day, every day, it costs about £288.20 a year at 26.32p/kWh, or £24.02 a month.
How many watts does a dehumidifier use?
Most draw between 500 W and 785 W while running, and 500 W is typical. The rating is on the label or in the manual.
Is it expensive to run a dehumidifier all day?
At 500 W it costs 13.2p an hour while the compressor runs, so running it all day adds up quickly. A humidistat that lets it stop once the air is dry costs much less.
Sources
- How much electricity am I using?, Centre for Sustainable Energy, July 2026. “Dehumidifier (500 W)”
- ENERGY SERIES: Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, 26 February 2020. “Dehumidifier = 785”
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