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How Much Does It Cost to Run a Dehumidifier in the US? (2026)

A dehumidifier runs like a small air conditioner, and people often leave it on for most of the day in damp basements. That combination of moderate wattage and long hours makes it a surprising line item on the bill.

A typical dehumidifier (400 W) costs $0.072 per hour, or about $21.60 per month at 10 hours a day in United States (average). Expensive to run

Electricity price region Hours used per day

Wattage	Per hour	Per day	Per month	Per year
Low (250 W)	$0.045	$0.45	$13.50	$164.25
Typical (400 W)	$0.072	$0.72	$21.60	$262.80
High (700 W)	$0.13	$1.26	$37.80	$459.90

Formula: watts ÷ 1000 × hours × price per kWh. Typical use is 10 h/day ≈ 1,460 kWh per year.

In the US, with electricity at $0.18 per kWh (source: EIA Electric Power Monthly, 2026-06), a typical dehumidifier costs $0.072 per hour and about $262.80 per year at 10 hours a day. Each $1.00 of electricity buys roughly 13.9 hours of use.

How to lower the cost of running a dehumidifier

Set the humidistat to 50 percent. Lower settings make the unit run far longer for little benefit.
Close windows and doors in the room being dried.
Empty the tank promptly or use continuous drain so the unit does not sit idle.
Look for the Energy Star rating, which measures litres removed per kWh.

In standby it draws about 1 W, which adds roughly 9 kWh ($1.58) per year if it is never unplugged.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a dehumidifier 24/7?

A 400 watt unit uses 9.6 kWh a day if it never cycles off. With a humidistat, real use is usually half that.

Does a dehumidifier heat the room?

Yes, slightly. All the electricity it uses ends up as heat, which can help in a cold basement.

Are desiccant dehumidifiers cheaper to run?

No, they typically use more electricity, but they work better in cold rooms.

Cost by region

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Use the generic electricity cost calculator →