500W for 8 hours a day
0.5 kW × 8 h × 26.32p = 105.28p (£1.05) a day. That is £7.37 a week and £32.02 a month.
Home & lifestyle · Energy costs
Dehumidifier running cost calculator
At 26.32p per kWh (Ofgem cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026), a 500W dehumidifier costs about 13.2p an hour, or £1.05 for 8 hours.
Enter your dehumidifier’s wattage, hours a day and electricity price for the cost per hour, day, week and month. Turn on laundry mode for the cost of drying one load.
13.16pan hour for a 500W dehumidifier at 26.32p per kWh£1.05 for 8 hours
Work out your dehumidifier’s running cost
Runs in your browser, with no run limit
Running cost
Per hour13.16p
Per day£1.05
Per week£7.37
Per month£32.02
Electricity used per day4 kWh
Per laundry load78.96p
Electricity per load3 kWh
Condenser dryer, full load (Bosch, 4.63 kWh)£1.22
Heat pump dryer, full load (Bosch, 1.87 kWh)49.22p
0.5 kW × 8 h × 26.32p = 105.28p (£1.05) a day
0.5 kW × 6 h × 26.32p = 78.96p a load
A week is 7 days; a month is 365 ÷ 12 = 30.42 days. The standing charge is not included (see below).
Per hour
Dehumidifier cost per hour by wattage
Cost per hour = power in kW × price per kWh. At 26.32p per kWh:
| Power | Per hour | 8 hours a day | Month at 8 hours a day | 24 hours a day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200W (example) | 5.26p | £0.42 | £12.81 | £1.26 |
| 300W (example) | 7.90p | £0.63 | £19.21 | £1.90 |
| 500W (CSE typical) | 13.16p | £1.05 | £32.02 | £3.16 |
| 650W (example) | 17.11p | £1.37 | £41.63 | £4.11 |
500W: Typical rating used by the Centre for Sustainable Energy (2022); yours may differ. Other wattages: Example only: replace with the watts on your appliance’s rating plate or manual.
If your dehumidifier has a humidity setting and switches off once it is reached, it will use less than these full-power figures; a plug-in energy monitor shows the kWh it actually uses.
Types
Compressor or desiccant?
Compressor dehumidifiers cool air over a cold coil so the water condenses. Desiccant dehumidifiers draw air through a moisture-absorbing material that is dried with a heater.
Their power ratings differ from model to model, and we have no source for a typical figure for each type, so this page does not claim one is cheaper. Compare the watts on each rating plate × the hours you would run it: the calculator works the same way for both.
Laundry
Dehumidifier vs tumble dryer: cost per load
| Method | kWh per load | Cost per load |
|---|---|---|
| Condenser dryer, Bosch WTN85280GB 8kg, full load | 4.63 kWh | £1.22 |
| Condenser dryer, Bosch WTN85280GB 8kg, half load | 2.61 kWh | 68.70p |
| Heat pump dryer, Bosch WTW85471GB 8kg, full load | 1.87 kWh | 49.22p |
| Heat pump dryer, Bosch WTW85471GB 8kg, half load | 1.14 kWh | 30.00p |
| Dehumidifier 500W × 6 hours (example hours) | 3 kWh | 78.96p |
In this example the dehumidifier (78.96p) is cheaper than the condenser dryer’s full load (£1.22) but dearer than the heat pump dryer’s (49.22p). Drying time depends on the room and the load, so time your own. The dryer figures are one model each, for the standard cotton programme; check your own dryer’s energy label or manual.
Dryer figures: Bosch WTN85280GB spec sheet (PDF) and Bosch WTW85471GB spec sheet (PDF).
Step by step
Worked examples
Daily cost = kW × hours × price per kWh. Weekly = daily × 7. Monthly = daily × 365 ÷ 12. Per load = kW × hours to dry × price per kWh.
500W running all day (24 hours)
0.5 kW × 24 h × 26.32p = 315.84p (£3.16) a day. That is £22.11 a week and £96.07 a month.
300W (example) for 8 hours a day
0.3 kW × 8 h × 26.32p = 63.17p (£0.63) a day. That is £4.42 a week and £19.21 a month.
650W (example) for 6 hours a day
0.65 kW × 6 h × 26.32p = 102.65p (£1.03) a day. That is £7.19 a week and £31.22 a month.
Laundry: 500W, 6 hours to dry a load
0.5 kW × 6 h × 26.32p = 78.96p a load (3 kWh).
Laundry: 300W (example), 6 hours to dry a load
0.3 kW × 6 h × 26.32p = 47.38p a load (1.8 kWh).
Wattage
How to find your dehumidifier’s wattage
Look on the rating plate (usually on the back or base) or in the manual for the power in watts (W). Some list a separate figure for a laundry or boost mode: use the one for the mode you run. The Centre for Sustainable Energy uses 500W as a typical dehumidifier rating (Centre for Sustainable Energy, “What uses watt?” (2022, PDF)), but yours may differ.
Your bill
Standing charge not included
Your electricity bill also has a daily standing charge: an Ofgem GB average of 54.83p a day on Direct Debit for October to December 2026. You pay it whether or not the dehumidifier is on, so it is not a running cost of the dehumidifier and this calculator leaves it out. Only the unit rate (pence per kWh) changes with how long you use it.
Source
Where the 26.32p figure comes from
26.32p per kWh is Ofgem’s GB average Direct Debit electricity unit rate under the energy price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026. There is no VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. The cap rate varies by region and payment method, and Economy 7, fixed and prepayment tariffs differ, so use the unit rate on your bill if you know it. The next price cap period starts on 1 January 2027. Source: Ofgem, energy price cap unit rates and standing charges.
Ofgem’s energy price cap unit rates and standing charges page, checked on 23 October 2026, gives for electricity paid by Direct Debit from 1 October to 31 December 2026: “26.32 pence per kWh” and “54.83 pence daily standing charge”.
More calculators
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- Electric blanket running cost calculator: Cost per night from watts, heat setting and hours.
- Heated airer running cost calculator: Cost per load and per month.
- Oil-filled radiator running cost calculator: Cost per hour, day and month from watts, hours and thermostat on-time.
- Electricity cost calculator: running cost of any appliance from its watts and hours.
Helpful answers
Dehumidifier running cost FAQs.
How much does a dehumidifier cost per hour?
About 13.2p an hour for a 500W dehumidifier at 26.32p per kWh (the Centre for Sustainable Energy’s typical rating), or £1.05 for 8 hours. A 300W model would cost about 7.9p an hour. Use the watts on your rating plate.
Is it cheaper to dry clothes with a dehumidifier or a tumble dryer?
It depends on the watts and the drying time. In our example a 500W dehumidifier running for 6 hours uses 3kWh (78.96p), less than a Bosch condenser dryer’s 4.63kWh full load (£1.22) but more than a Bosch heat pump dryer’s 1.87kWh (49.22p). Drying time depends on the room and the load.
Compressor or desiccant: which is cheaper to run?
Compare the watts on each rating plate × the hours each runs. We have no source for a typical wattage of each type, so this calculator makes no general claim; it uses the watts you enter.
Is the standing charge included?
No. The daily standing charge (an Ofgem GB average of 54.83p a day on Direct Debit for October to December 2026) is paid whether or not the dehumidifier is on, so it is not a running cost of the dehumidifier.