Difference Between a Dehumidifier and an Air Conditioner
A dehumidifier is specifically designed to remove excess moisture from the air. It does this by pulling in moist air, cooling it to condense the moisture and then releasing the drier air back into the room. This helps prevent mold, mildew and dust mites, improving indoor air quality. Dehumidifiers can work in rooms up to 3000+ sq. ft. and have reservoir storage capacities of up to 4 Gallons. These reservoirs store the moisture collected from the air.
An air conditioner primarily cools the air and removes some moisture. However, its main function is to lower the temperature. It can remove only a minimal amount of humidity from your room. A dehumidifier might be a more effective choice for environments with high humidity. These conditioners can cool rooms up to 600 sq. ft. and have cooling power up to 20000+ BTU.
Comparison of Air Conditioner vs Dehumidifier Energy Efficiency
Generally, an air conditioner will consume more electricity than a similarly sized dehumidifier. There are a few reasons for this:
Working Process
An air conditioner has to cool the air, condense it, and expel water droplets. All these tasks require more electricity, which means the conditioner consumes more energy.
A dehumidifier only does part of these tasks, i.e. remove the moisture. This means, the dehumidifier will consume less electricity.
Operation Time
An air conditioner usually needs to be kept running for a longer time to cool the room. This, in turn, will consume more energy.
On the other hand, a dehumidifier only needs to run for 10–15 minutes to remove all the moisture from the room. Again, this means it consumes less electricity.
Coils
Air conditioners have a set of coils that need to be cooled. Air passes through these coils and gets colder. Since there is a large set of coils that need to be cooled consistently, the conditioner consumes more energy.
Dehumidifiers, too, have coils, but these coils don’t get as cold as air conditioner coils. Also, these coils must be cooled only partly so they don’t consume much energy.
How is a Dehumidifier Different From an Air Conditioner
Several key differences set dehumidifiers and air conditioners apart:
When purchasing both or either of the two units, factor in the various differences between them. Consider the running costs, function, maintenance and portability of both units.