How Much Does a Commercial Dehumidifier Cost? Why So Expensive?

While a simple non-electric desiccant or small dehumidifier may take care of moisture in your small to medium rooms, you’ll need way more than that to prevent mold growth and stock damages in your server rooms, warehouses, offices and Basements.

A commercial-grade dehumidifier is often the best resort when it comes to industrial or whole-home dehumidification. They are big, with large pint capacity and can dehumidify large spaces quicker. However, these units are relatively expensive.

This begs a few more questions, how much exactly do commercial grade dehumidifiers cost? What determines their cost? Why do commercial grade dehumidifiers cost so much? We’ll get the answers to these questions as we move along.

Why Are Commercial Dehumidifiers So Expensive?

The answer is right in the question. These units are called “commercial” or “industrial” for a reason. They are bigger and can be deployed to larger spaces like warehouses, factories, large offices and so on.

The commercial dehumidifier is larger in size and can cover spaces meant for multiple whole-house units. Naturally, this will mean higher manufacturing costs due to more expensive parts and components.

Also, these units are meant mostly for business spaces and not for regular-sized homes.

Therefore, the core manufacturing costs and cost of parts used determine how much any appliance would cost. The same goes for a commercial dehumidifier.

The three main areas of a dehumidifier that affect the cost are the filter system, the moisture removal section and the heating system.

These sections include parts such as the filter, lights, gaskets, condensers, motors, capacitors, regulators, hoses, pumps, etc. For larger commercial-grade dehumidifiers, manufacturers will need larger, more quality parts.

If you are looking for best value for money commercial dehumidifiers, please check below options:

How Much Does a Commercial Grade Dehumidifier Cost?

An average commercial-grade dehumidifier costs between $3,500 and $6,000, especially if you consider installation costs which may be summed up to around $2,000 in some cases.

This cost also depends on the brand and capacity. Some may be slightly cheaper and others may be well above this range. But there’s no blanket approach to determining the price of a dehumidifier.

There are certain categorizations that determine the cost range of a commercial-grade dehumidifier and we’ll examine them shortly.

There are a lot of criteria to consider, including Maximum capacity, AHAM capacity, Square Footage, Wattage, Efficiency, Airflow, etc.

1. AHAM Capacity

AHAM stands for Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. This Capacity rating refers to the initial Capacity of a dehumidifier measured in pints. It is measured at 60% to 80% relative humidity levels, and is often the most relevant capacity criterion.

2. Maximum Capacity

This often manifests in damper areas and the unit is forced to function beyond factory ratings.

You’ll find that most commercial dehumidifiers with AHAM capacity of 90 pints may have a maximum capacity up to 130 pints or more. Sometimes, the difference isn’t that much or noticeable.

3. Square Footage

This is another range category for commercial dehumidifiers. A 1,000 square footage dehumidifier will not be able to do much in a 2,000 square Footage space. So, the larger the square footage, the more expensive the unit is likely to be.

4. Wattage

Wattage is also a factor, most of the time. A commercial dehumidifier will take up as much as 1,500W and run on about 120V and as much as 10-15 amps. So, logically, the higher the power, the higher the cost.

5. Efficiency

Energy efficiency has become a very important factor in determining the cost of unit in recent times. Experts have come to realize that some of the most expensive industrial dehumidifier units actually have the best efficiency and will cost lesser over time.

6. Airflow

Airflow comes next on this list and is measured by CFM (Cubic feet per meter). Some commercial dehumidifiers give as much as 200 CFM in Airflow and others may go as high as 250. Oftentimes, the higher the CFM, the higher the cost of the unit.

Average Cost of Commercial-Grade Dehumidifiers Based on Ranges

	Small-sized Commercial Dehumidifiers	Medium Commercial Dehumidifiers	Large Commercial Dehumidifiers
Average Price	$1,500 – $2,200	$1,800 – $2,500	$2,000 and above
AHAM Capacity	60% – 100%	60% – 100%	60% – 100%
Maximum Capacity	90 – 110	120 – 160	140 and above
Square Footage	1,500	2,000	2,500 and above
Airflow	130 – 190 CFM	200 – 240 CFM	250 CFM and above

All of these ranges have these prices specifically due to their filter sizes, water collection capacity, and fan power or airflow capacity.

All of these components add to the cost of the unit and logically, the bigger or more powerful the component, the higher the price.

Another reason why a commercial dehumidifier may be expensive or not is the popularity and/or quality of the brand. There may be some budget brands that will be relatively cheaper, but you’ll find that certain qualities do not add up.

Below are Some of the commercial-grade dehumidifiers that will give you great value:

1. Aprilaire E100 Pro 100 Pint Dehumidifier
2. BlueDri BD-BD-130-BL Commercial Dehumidifier
3. COLZER 180 Pints Commercial Dehumidifier

How Much Does It Cost to Run a Commercial Dehumidifier?

The most significant factor for determining how much it costs to run a commercial dehumidifier is energy usage.

If we agree that energy usage in appliances is measured in Watt, then it is important to consider the Wattage of each commercial-grade unit to determine how much it will cost you to keep a dehumidifier running.

To run a 500 watt dehumidifier for 60 minutes, you’ll need to spend 7 cents. This obviously means you’ll spend 14 cents on a 1,000 watt dehumidifier that runs for an hour, and 28 cents running a 2,000 Watt dehumidifier for an hour.

Based on this, if you run a 1,000 watt commercial-grade dehumidifier for 24 hours, you’d spend $3.36.

If you do that for a whole week, that would be $23.52. Generally speaking, this can be translated as the cost of running the unit per gallon of water retrieved from the air.

This is measured as liter/kilowatt-hour, and 1 gallon of water equals 3.79 liters.

With the US average of $0.1319 as kilowatt-hour price, a 2L/kWh industrial dehumidifier with some level of energy efficiency will cost around $0.25 in electricity for every gallon of water the unit collects from the air.

This is assuming every other thing is in perfect condition and energy usage is counting normally. Truth is, energy is not the only running cost a dehumidifier has.

There is maintenance as well. So many things are involved in maintaining a commercial-grade dehumidifier which will affect the running cost of the appliance.

1. Filter Replacement

A typical replacement filter for commercial dehumidifiers can cost between $35 and $150 depending on size, brand and quality.

For some brands, this filter can be replaced once or twice yearly. If used 24/7 during the summer, you can be sure that the filter will require replacement at least twice within the season.

2. Fan Motor

The unit’s fan motor may also develop some fault and fail to run properly. This may need servicing or replacement. Prices vary but know that you’ll be spending a couple of hundreds.

The fan motor will cost about $150 while manual labor will take a couple of hundreds as well.

3. Compressor

This is another maintenance issue that may arise; the need to replace your compressor. While it won’t occur out of the blues and without cause, it is a possibility that may occur before you expend your unit’s lifespan.

Depending on the size, brand and status of the compressor, it may cost you about $500 to $1,200 to replace.

4. Servicing

Servicing may involve things as simple as cleaning the unit to other complex actions like replacing the fan motor or compressor. Depending on how you use your unit and the cost of electrical labor where you live, this can be quite expensive.

Cleaning may be required as frequently as every month, and if you do not have someone in-house to take care of it, you may have to part with as much as $500 monthly on cleaning alone.

Final Words:

The importance of a dehumidifier cannot be over-emphasized. Just as it is needed at home to make the air more comfortable, your warehouses, factories and office spaces also require dehumidification when levels rise.

However, the cost of purchasing one and running the same has been an issue for contention over the years. We hope that this post has been able to put all of your doubts to rest.

With this useful information, you can plan better, know what works for you and enjoy the beautiful, clean, safe air you desire.