CostCandid

A whole-house dehumidifier can cost far more upfront than a portable unit. But purchase price alone does not tell you which option costs less over time. A whole-home system can involve equipment, professional installation, ductwork or duct modifications, drainage, electrical work, maintenance and years of electricity use. Portable dehumidifiers are cheaper to buy, but a large or humid home may require more than one unit. That makes the better financial question: Which option costs less over the number of years you expect to own it? Use the calculator below to compare a whole-house dehumidifier with one or more portable units. Quick Answer A whole-house dehumidifier has a much higher upfront cost than a typical portable dehumidifier because the project can include both equipment and installation. However, the long-term comparison depends on your specific home, how many portable units you would otherwise need, electricity consumption, replacement frequency and maint...

If you leave a dehumidifier running in your basement all day, how much does it actually add to your electric bill? The answer depends on more than the wattage printed on the appliance. A dehumidifier may be powered on 24 hours a day without its compressor running continuously. Once the basement reaches the humidity setting you selected, the humidistat can cycle the dehumidifier on and off. That makes the most useful cost equation: Rated Watts × Power-On Hours × Estimated Duty Cycle × Electricity Rate Use the calculator below to estimate your daily, 30-day, seasonal, annual, 5-year and 10-year basement dehumidifier electricity costs. Quick Answer A basement dehumidifier that is switched on 24/7 does not necessarily consume its full rated wattage for all 24 hours. For example, a 500-watt unit powered on for 24 hours with an estimated 60% active duty cycle would have about 14.4 equivalent full-power hours per day. At $0.18 per kWh, that simplified example works ou...

An ENERGY STAR dishwasher can use less electricity and less water than a less-efficient standard model. But that doesn't automatically mean it's worth paying hundreds of dollars more. The useful question is: How much will the lower utility use actually save during the years I own the dishwasher? That's the calculation most appliance comparisons skip. Under current ENERGY STAR criteria, a standard-size certified dishwasher must use no more than 240 kWh per year and 3.2 gallons of water per cycle . For comparison, the current federal efficiency benchmark for a standard-size conventional dishwasher is up to 307 kWh per year and 5.0 gallons per cycle . Using those two benchmarks, the ENERGY STAR model saves electricity and water. But whether that justifies a higher purchase price depends on your utility rates, how often you run the dishwasher, the price difference and how long you keep it. Quick Answer: How Much Can ENERGY STAR Save? Using the curren...

Is it actually cheaper to use a dishwasher than to wash dishes by hand? For many U.S. households, a modern efficient dishwasher can use surprisingly little water and energy. But the real cost depends on how you wash dishes, how often you run the dishwasher, your local water and sewer rates, and how much hot water you use at the sink. That means the useful question is not simply whether a dishwasher uses less water. You need to compare water, sewer, electricity, and water-heating costs together. The calculator below lets you do exactly that using your own household numbers. Quick answer: For full loads, a modern efficient dishwasher will often use substantially less water than washing the same dishes under running water by hand. ENERGY STAR says a new certified dishwasher uses less than half as much energy as washing dishes by hand and can save about 8,400 gallons of water per year. But your actual dollar savings depend heavily on your hand-washing habits, hot-wat...