If you are seeing mold on your walls / cupboards / clothes or your clothes are not drying or you have a musty smell in your house during monsoons, there is high humidity within your house. If you want to know what it is - you do get hygrometers to check actual humidity levels OR you can get an approximate humidity level for your city using some apps like hygrometer. Humidity levels of 30-60% is expected to be a comfortable range. Above 70% is high humidity levels and needs to be controlled. In many coastal towns and cities in India, the humidity levels can be quite high and can warrant a dehumidifier.
Watch instead of read?
Today let’s talk about dehumidifiers - specialized appliances used to control humidity. Towards the end I’ll talk about other alternatives you can use to control humidity in specific areas like closets, shoe racks and so on.
Buy best dehumidifer in India
❇️ Best 1 - Sharp dehumidifier
❇️ Best 2 - Power pye dehumidifer
❇️ Best 3 - Origin dehumidifier
Moisture removal in a dehumidifer
The first thing to check is the amount of moisture the dehumidifier can remove from the air. If you stay in a very humid area - above 80% humidity, you need atleast a dehumidifier that removes 14-15L/day or above. If you stay in an area with medium humidity - between 50-80%, you need atleast a dehumidifier with 10-12L/day and above. The small portable ones that you get in the market these days with lower capacity are only ideal for really small areas, like inside the closet or cupboards.
Tank capacity of a dehumidifer
Next you have to check the tank capacity. The tank capacity is normally lower than the amount of moisture it can remove from the air - which means you may need to empty it often. So if you stay in an area with higher humidity, a larger tank capacity OR a dehumidifier with a water outlet or continuous drainage is preferred for continuous operation. Amongst the ones compared, power pye electronics and Sujay Inc have the ability to extract the highest amount of moisture from the air and also have the largest tank capacity. All of the large sized models compared have the water drainage option - so tank capacity may be a moot point if you can use that option. But do note, most often you have to purchase the drain pipe separately.
Room size supported by a dehumidifer
Next you have to check the room size it can cater too. Most of these dehumidifiers compared cater to 200-400 sq ft. If you have a larger room, you may need to use multiple dehumidifiers in the room. Sharp air purifier with dehumidifier 20L supports upto 550L and power pye electronics 20L supports the largest room size of 380 sq ft.
Buy best dehumidifer in India
❇️ Best 1 - Sharp dehumidifier
❇️ Best 2 - Power pye dehumidifer
❇️ Best 3 - Origin dehumidifier
Electricity consumption of a dehumidifer
Electricity consumption is fairly low - between 165-300W in most cases. This is much lower than an AC, so purchasing an AC to dehumidify may be an expensive proposition, unless you are already using one.
All these dehumidifiers compared have an auto shut off feature, which stops the process once the water tank is full. Except in the Sharp dehumidifiers, you can also set a preferred humidity level.
Air purification in a dehumidifer
Amongst the dehumidifiers compared, Sharp, Advance and Sujay Inc also have an air purification function - with inbuilt HEPA and carbon filters for purification. So if you have a need for both, you can consider one of these. Sharp has the best option with HEPA 14 filters.
In addition, you can also control the Power pye electronics dehumidifier using an app, Alexa or google home - which is not there in any of the other dehumidifiers.
All of these heavy duty dehumidifiers can be expensive - between 16K for the smallest dehumidifier to almost 40K for the largest dehumidifier. Except for power pye electronics dehumidifiers which give a 2 year warranty, everything else gives a 1 year warranty.
Buy best dehumidifer in India
❇️ Best 1 - Sharp dehumidifier
❇️ Best 2 - Power pye dehumidifer
❇️ Best 3 - Origin dehumidifier
Best dehumidifiers in India
So based on all of these specs, my recommendations for the best dehumidifiers in India are:
For rooms upto 300 sq ft or a high humidity level - Sharp Air purifier and dehumidifier is the best value for money option. It supports 16L per day with a tank capacity upto 3L. Available at around 22,000, this dehumidifier has a water outlet - but drain pipe to be purchased separately, auto shut off capability, and air purification included. The main con with this is it does not allow setting the preferred humidity level, but it brings down the humidity to the ideal levels with continuous dehumidification, so not an issue in my opinion. They also have a larger size which supports upto 20L per day and rooms / homes upto 550 sq ft. Given it is also has one of the best air purification with a HEPA 14 filter - it was one of my recommendations for air purifiers as well - this is my recommended option, esp. If you need both.
For a larger room upto 380sq ft and a high humidity level - a made in India dehumidifier - the Power pye electronics dehumidifier - it’s got one of the highest room sizes covered, a 20L per day moisture absorption, a large tank capacity of 5.5 liter with a water outlet - so no need to empty often. Added benefit is that it also has air purification and a smart home integration with an app, Alexa and google home support. The only issue I see so far is service. They also have a smaller option of 12L per day for smaller room sizes / areas with lower humidity.
If you are looking for a compact dehumidifier which can be moved around easily, then the Origin dehumidifier is ideal. It is a specialized dehumidifier with no air purification, a dehumidifying capacity of 12L with a tank capacity of 2.5 liter, ability to set humidity levels, an outlet for continuous operation and auto shut off - this is a dehumidifier with one of the least electricity consumption at about 165W.
Now - let’s talk about other options to control humidity:
If you mostly have dampness inside your cupboards - then it is sufficient to use a moisture absorber. For a cheaper alternative, you can use silica gel sachets. You would have seen silica sachets being included in electronic equipment for this very reason. I have personally used this for a few years and it works. Once the sachet changes color, it’s time to replace it. These days you also get moisture absorption products that can be used, I have linked to a few in the description. It’s ideal to put these in places which you don’t air out often as well - like loft at the top of your wardrobes. Now these only work for cupboards or enclosed spaces - not if the overall humidity is high in your house.
Again inside cupboards or small areas, you can get smaller dehumidifiers. Some are battery operated, some are USB operated and some need electrical connection. But the efficiency of these is very limited to small spaces.
Next option is if you already have an air conditioner, some of them do have an ability to reduce humidity. But this is quite an expensive option as the upfront cost and power consumption is high. If you need to dehumidify only a few weeks in the year, then you can consider using this option if you already have one instead of buying a specialized appliance like a dehumidifier.
Comments