Dehumidifier running cost: from pints per day to dollars
What a dehumidifier costs to run, worked out from its rated capacity and efficiency (IEF) and your state's average electricity price.
Short answer
A 35-pint dehumidifier at the ENERGY STAR minimum efficiency (IEF 2.01 liters per kWh) uses 8.24 kWh a day running flat out, about $1.51 a day or $45.26 for 30 days at the US average electricity price for July 2026. One at the federal minimum (IEF 1.60) uses 10.35 kWh for the same water: $56.86 for 30 days. A humidistat that stops the unit once the air is dry cuts both figures.
Work out your own cost
What the efficiency label is worth, state by state
Two 35-pint dehumidifiers removing the same amount of water: one just meeting the ENERGY STAR level, one just meeting the federal minimum. Both run all day at their rated output, the most they would use. A humidistat that switches the unit off cuts both figures by the same share, so the gap between them shrinks in proportion.
| State | Price (¢/kWh) | ENERGY STAR minimum, 30 days | Federal minimum, 30 days | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 16.40 | $40.54 | $50.93 | $10.39 |
| Alaska | 28.83 | $71.26 | $89.52 | $18.26 |
| Arizona | 15.38 | $38.02 | $47.76 | $9.74 |
| Arkansas | 14.33 | $35.42 | $44.50 | $9.08 |
| California | 33.61 | $83.08 | $104.37 | $21.29 |
| Colorado | 17.00 | $42.02 | $52.79 | $10.77 |
| Connecticut | 24.16 | $59.72 | $75.02 | $15.30 |
| Delaware | 18.48 | $45.68 | $57.38 | $11.71 |
| District of Columbia | 25.21 | $62.31 | $78.28 | $15.97 |
| Florida | 15.03 | $37.15 | $46.67 | $9.52 |
| Georgia | 16.27 | $40.22 | $50.52 | $10.31 |
| Hawaii | 48.00 | $118.65 | $149.05 | $30.40 |
| Idaho | 13.73 | $33.94 | $42.63 | $8.70 |
| Illinois | 19.22 | $47.51 | $59.68 | $12.17 |
| Indiana | 16.73 | $41.35 | $51.95 | $10.60 |
| Iowa | 15.99 | $39.52 | $49.65 | $10.13 |
| Kansas | 15.27 | $37.74 | $47.42 | $9.67 |
| Kentucky | 13.81 | $34.14 | $42.88 | $8.75 |
| Louisiana | 12.72 | $31.44 | $39.50 | $8.06 |
| Maine | 32.41 | $80.11 | $100.64 | $20.53 |
| Maryland | 21.41 | $52.92 | $66.48 | $13.56 |
| Massachusetts | 30.49 | $75.37 | $94.68 | $19.31 |
| Michigan | 23.05 | $56.98 | $71.58 | $14.60 |
| Minnesota | 17.45 | $43.13 | $54.19 | $11.05 |
| Mississippi | 14.54 | $35.94 | $45.15 | $9.21 |
| Missouri | 16.09 | $39.77 | $49.96 | $10.19 |
| Montana | 14.99 | $37.05 | $46.55 | $9.49 |
| Nebraska | 13.78 | $34.06 | $42.79 | $8.73 |
| Nevada | 12.77 | $31.57 | $39.65 | $8.09 |
| New Hampshire | 26.60 | $65.75 | $82.60 | $16.85 |
| New Jersey | 25.19 | $62.27 | $78.22 | $15.96 |
| New Mexico | 16.09 | $39.77 | $49.96 | $10.19 |
| New York | 29.90 | $73.91 | $92.85 | $18.94 |
| North Carolina | 15.16 | $37.47 | $47.08 | $9.60 |
| North Dakota | 13.41 | $33.15 | $41.64 | $8.49 |
| Ohio | 19.45 | $48.08 | $60.40 | $12.32 |
| Oklahoma | 14.35 | $35.47 | $44.56 | $9.09 |
| Oregon | 15.97 | $39.47 | $49.59 | $10.12 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.72 | $53.69 | $67.45 | $13.76 |
| Rhode Island | 28.29 | $69.93 | $87.85 | $17.92 |
| South Carolina | 15.47 | $38.24 | $48.04 | $9.80 |
| South Dakota | 15.37 | $37.99 | $47.73 | $9.74 |
| Tennessee | 13.71 | $33.89 | $42.57 | $8.68 |
| Texas | 15.88 | $39.25 | $49.31 | $10.06 |
| Utah | 13.12 | $32.43 | $40.74 | $8.31 |
| Vermont | 23.75 | $58.71 | $73.75 | $15.04 |
| Virginia | 17.55 | $43.38 | $54.50 | $11.12 |
| Washington | 14.71 | $36.36 | $45.68 | $9.32 |
| West Virginia | 15.78 | $39.01 | $49.00 | $10.00 |
| Wisconsin | 19.06 | $47.11 | $59.19 | $12.07 |
| Wyoming | 14.36 | $35.50 | $44.59 | $9.10 |
| US average | 18.31 | $45.26 | $56.86 | $11.60 |
From pints to kilowatthours
Dehumidifiers are not sold by watts but by capacity and efficiency. Capacity is in pints per day; efficiency is the integrated energy factor, or IEF, in liters per kilowatthour. ENERGY STAR defines IEF as the ratio between capacity and the total energy the unit uses in dehumidification mode and in standby or off mode. Put simply: how many liters of water it removes for each kWh.
kWh per day = pints per day × 0.4731765 × hours running ÷ 24 ÷ IEF
The 0.4731765 converts US liquid pints to liters, the factor the National Institute of Standards and Technology gives. Worked example: 35 pints a day is 16.56 liters. At an IEF of 2.01, that takes 8.24 kWh, which costs $1.51 a day at the US average of 18.31 cents. At 1.60, the same water takes 10.35 kWh, or $1.90 a day. Over 30 days the gap is $11.60.
Spread over 24 hours, 8.24 kWh is an average draw of about 343 watts while the unit runs, which is why a dehumidifier running all day costs more than many people expect.
The two efficiency floors
| Rated capacity | Federal minimum (made on or after June 13, 2019) | ENERGY STAR Version 6.0 (from October 1, 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| 25.00 pints/day or less | 1.30 | 1.70 |
| 25.01 to 50 pints/day | 1.60 | 2.01 |
| Over 50 pints/day | 2.80 | 3.30 |
Federal law sets the floor: under 10 CFR 430.32(v)(2), portable dehumidifiers made on or after June 13, 2019 must meet the minimums in the middle column. ENERGY STAR's Version 6.0 requirements, in force since October 1, 2025, ask for more, and a unit carrying the label has to meet the right-hand column. ENERGY STAR writes its top band as “≥ 50” pints and the federal rule as “50.01 or more”; the two documents draw the line at slightly different places.
Whole-home dehumidifiers, the ducted kind, are rated by case volume instead of pints: the federal minimums are 1.77 L/kWh for 8.0 cubic feet or less and 2.41 above that, and ENERGY STAR asks for 2.22 and 3.81.
Why your figure will differ
ENERGY STAR describes capacity as the pints collected per 24 hours “under specified ambient conditions”, those of the federal test procedure. A real basement or bedroom is rarely at those conditions, so the water removed, and the energy it takes, will differ from the rating. The calculator's result is an estimate at rated conditions, and a ceiling when hours are set to 24.
The hours setting matters most. A unit with a humidistat stops when the room reaches the humidity you set, so it may run only part of the day. If your dehumidifier shows run time, or you can watch it for a day, put that number in the hours box.
What the state price is
The prices are the residential averages in the US Energy Information Administration's Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, for July 2026, marked as preliminary. Your own rate can differ from your state's average. EIA's next release is due on October 23, 2026.
Sources
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, July 2026 and 2025, residential column. Data for July 2026, released September 24, 2026; next release October 23, 2026. Read October 1, 2026.
- ENERGY STAR (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), Dehumidifiers Key Efficiency Criteria: Version 6.0, effective October 1, 2025; IEF and product capacity definitions. Read October 1, 2026.
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 10 CFR 430.32, Energy and water conservation standards and their compliance dates, paragraph (v), dehumidifiers. Read October 1, 2026.
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST Guide to the SI, Appendix B.8: Factors for units listed alphabetically: pint (U.S. liquid) to liter, 4.731 765 E-01. Read October 1, 2026.
Changes: first published October 1, 2026.