Dehumidifiers help to remove excess moisture from the air and release back clean, dry air back into the room. A question that we are constantly asked (and that has occasionally been debated) is “do dehumidifiers cool a room?” By minimizing humidity levels in damp areas such as basements, attics, and garages, these appliances are crucial for inhibiting the growth of mold and pests. Moist air is drawn into the dehumidifier grill, passed through a frozen coil, and condensed into water droplets that collect in a removable bucket. The dry air that reenters your room is free of allergens and contaminants that trigger reactions in people who have sensitivities. This is what makes dehumidifiers valuable additions to your home to manage the ambient humidity, cut down your exposure to allergic reactions, and be surrounded by clean and breathable air.
Minimum humidity also means that your furniture, upholstery, paintwork, wallpaper, and metal objects retain their quality over time, as moisture leads to rusting and frequent peeling. Dehumidifiers allow your home to breathe a new lease of life, and the lack of odors from damp areas is a huge incentive. Since the air becomes dry and relatively clean, there is some cooling effect because the dehumidified air is moisture-free and much more comfortable. The main function of a dehumidifier is to remove humidity to the required extent, and the air that goes back out is almost at the same temperature as before. While a dehumidifier is not meant to work as an air conditioner, there are some ways that the combined effect of moisture extraction and ventilation leaves a cool climate around you, and that will help to answer the question “Do Dehumidifiers Cool a Room?” as explored in this article.
How a Dehumidifier Works
Condensation
The warm air currents are vacuumed through a grill fan and passed through freezing coils. When this warm blast hits the cold surface of the coils, condensation occurs, and the resulting droplets begin to gather in a water tank. This tank can be emptied manually at periodic intervals; most dehumidifiers have drain hose connections to automate the flow. The unit is equipped with various beep signals for filter cleaning, a full water tank, and timer alerts to let you know the current status. Auto turn-off and restart features make it easy to program the dehumidifier without needing to step in every now and then.
Real-Time Monitoring
As the water condenses and collects below, the lighter, cleaner, and dehumidified air blows out of the machine. The equipment uses refrigerants and works in real-time as it continuously monitors the surrounding humidity and then turns off automatically once the desired level is reached – or when the timer goes off. There are also smart dehumidifiers that you can operate using the brand’s app, and some of them are even compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Regardless of the technical makeup, all dehumidifiers have the singular task of eliminating maximum moisture from the air.
Dampness Control
These machines work best in cities and regions that are more prone to damp conditions. Water damage restoration projects rely on strategically installed dehumidifiers that help with alleviating troubles from waterlogged emergencies. This applies to residential contexts as well in terms of flooded basements, garages, and rooms.
Evaporation
Essentially, once humidity leaves the equation, the sticky suffocating feel of heavy air is reduced, and this what makes the air feel cooler and more breathable. It helps to remember that dehumidifiers are not intended to create a lasting cooling effect – we have air conditioners for that – but they support a much pleasant atmosphere that feels welcoming on a scorching hot day. Dehumidified air seems cooler compared to thick humid air, and that is where the difference lies.
Air that is already saturated with moisture leaves no room for evaporation on the skin, as it traps heat and humidity around you. When it gets dehumidified, it becomes less dense and more free-flowing, causing heat to disperse better rather than suffocate you. Quite often, people use dehumidifiers along with air conditioning units to enjoy the best results.
Perception
Humid air naturally feels hot to us, whereas less humid air seems cooler because you find it much easier to walk into and stay in a dehumidified room. Even if the overall temperature remains the same – and even if you find the air from the dehumidifier to be warm – once the air currents are set in motion, the lighter air travels easily and offers better ventilation around the room. The results can be felt when your dehumidifier has been on for a few hours, creating a continuous stream of fresh air.
Pairing a Dehumidifier With an Air Conditioning Unit
A Productive Duo
High humidity levels get in the way of smooth HVAC functioning, and this is also quite taxing on electricity bills. Dehumidifiers bring down the moisture content to a bare minimum, allowing air conditioning units to work better and more efficiently. By following safety rules from your appliances’ manufacturers, you can install both dehumidifier and AC units in the same room to achieve a maximum cooling result. The dehumidifier already blows out clean and dry air that the AC recycles into a cool blast.
Maintenance Care
In order to ensure that both systems function properly, you will need to clean their filters regularly and keep track of the dehumidifiers’ water tank. Normally, the tank can be set to drain on its own through a drain hose attachment, and the unit automatically shuts off when the tank is full. Beeps and light signals alert you promptly regarding the dehumidifier’s current status. If you have smart appliances that you can control on your tablet screen, then this combination works even better for home automation systems.
Dehumidifier Specifications
Finding the right dehumidifier unit based on your bedroom’s square-feet measurement is a crucial step. The pints of water removed per day is an important specification to match your residential/commercial context and runtime usage. You will also need to find out which dehumidifier is best suited for your region’s temperatures – as well as the right combination with your installed air conditioning unit. Reduction in humidity levels, for example by 40%, allows you to buy energy-efficient models that are ideal for working alongside your AC system.
Optimum humidity levels
A workable, healthy range of humidity is between 30-50% for home contexts. As the levels exceed this range, there is greater exposure to allergens and contaminants due to the added moisture that welcomes mold and mildew with open arms. When the air is dehumidified, the workload on your AC unit becomes considerably reduced, and it begins to cool down the air much more easily. Operating at pints of water removed per day, the dehumidifier maintains friendly humidity ranges throughout the day, allowing energy-saving benefits to beat the heat anytime.
Dehumidifier and AC Combo
There are combo devices that combine a dehumidifier unit into an air conditioning unit – and you get the best of both worlds! These portable appliances are designed to remove moisture from the air and simultaneously cool down the temperature. Combination units like this help to purify the air and create a cool climate for your room at the same time, and the units can also operate independently of each other. The dehumidifier part allows the AC to work more efficiently at cooling the ambient temperature, since it all comes down to lighter and dry air that enhances the performance of your AC.
Why a Dehumidifier Alone Cannot Cool a Room
Lack of Heat Exchange
Like all electrical devices, dehumidifiers produce heat when they work. Unlike an air conditioning unit that relies on external heat transfers – thus the need for vents – a dehumidifier’s heat stays in the room.
The indoor air quality improves when moisture levels go down, but there is no way for the cumulative heat to be exhausted out of the room. This is why it cannot be claimed that a standalone dehumidifier unit can singlehandedly cool down a room.
Humidity Removal
The primary job of a dehumidifier is to monitor the humidity levels and keep them maintained at preset values. It is not built to keep a room cool; however, a continuously-running unit makes an isolated room feel cooler due to the fresh air currents that keep streaming out from the dehumidifier. For example, when the humidity reduces from 70% to 40%, there is some increment in the room’s overall temperature, considering the operational machinery and the heat that radiates from it.
Temperature Change vs Humidity change
This brings us back to the final showdown: is it a drop in temperature or humidity that makes the dehumidified room feel cool, and do dehumidifiers cool a room? The answer inclines more towards relative humidity, causing the before-and-after difference to feel much more perceptible. At high humidity, our skin’s moisture cannot escape easily, whereas low humidity accelerates evaporation on the skin – leaving behind a cooling effect. This gives the impression that the dehumidifier cools the room, when it is just the laws of physics that are playing behind the scenes.
Not a Substitute for Air Conditioning
If a dehumidifier could successfully cool a room, it would make an easy replacement for your air conditioning unit. When people invest in a good dehumidifier, they aim for a solution to manage their health issues like asthma and skin allergies, as the unit is designed to regulate the humid air and make it less damaging to their health. Therefore, a dehumidifier cannot replace an air conditioner, but it can function as a combo unit to streamline the whole process and cool a room faster.
A Makeshift Solution to Keep You Cool
Dehumidify and DIY
Do Dehumidifiers Cool a Room? No, a dehumidifier does not lower the temperature in a room. It only lowers the relative humidity and maximizes the airflow, which in turn allows moisture on your skin to evaporate quicker. It is an efficient drying agent to purify the air and sidetrack your heat problems so that they appear more manageable. There are various DIY steps that are invented by homeowners to make the best out of this equipment. Following the manufacturer’s recommendation for ideal setup and placement, the dehumidifier can be shifted to the middle of your room for a better coverage.
Low but Not Too Low
For the dehumidifier to achieve the best results, your room needs to be well-insulated and closed – this also means keeping the doors and windows closed, based on the brand’s safety rules. Sufficient capacity is imperative for your unit to remove the required pints of water per day, and you should always purchase dehumidifiers that meet the scope of your applications. Since the immediate surrounding becomes full of dry air, it is a smart idea to let the machine run in your absence to avoid your skin drying up as well. The machine just needs to bring down humidity to a healthy, comfortable level rather than letting it collapse too low. Dehumidifier automation and app control help bridge these gaps with security settings, alerts, and automatic shutdown features stepping in to save the day.
Three Different Types of Dehumidifiers
Despite the slight increase in temperature, dry air is more comfortable than dense, humid air that clings to your skin and causes difficulty in breathing. There are typically 3 kinds of dehumidifiers that you can install, namely refrigerant, desiccant, and whole-house. Refrigerant dehumidifiers work by cooling the vacuumed air and leaving it moisture-free, and this happens to be the most famous type of dehumidifier. Desiccant units exploit the idea of adsorption rather than absorption, and they release the trapped moisture. They are a common sight in small RVs, cars, and heavy-duty commercial contexts that operate in extreme conditions. Whole-house dehumidifiers are ducted to the HVAC infrastructure of multi-story buildings; these have a large-scale functionality for dehumidifying the air even before it enters your rooms. They are undoubtedly more durable and performance-driven compared to portable units like refrigerant dehumidifiers.
Defeating the Common Enemy
All of these 3 kinds of dehumidifiers differ slightly in execution but deliver the same outcome – less humid air for your home and office. Regardless of their installation differences, they all serve to combat humidity and the consequential intrusions from mold, dust mites, pests, and contaminants. The surface area of the room is a major deciding factor for buying the right equipment that can withstand the capacity. This also allows for the ripple effect that sneaks into every nook and cranny to ambush hidden, moist damages that eat into the walls and inventories – since moisture is the known enemy of all your stocked goods, paintwork, metals, and furniture. On the bright side, your enemy’s enemy is your friend!