Dehumidifier for a cool 1100 sq ft basement

by Loring
(Carmel, NY USA)

I have a newly finished 1100 sq ft walkout basement that is below grade on three sides and is very cool throughout the year. I live about 55 miles north of New York City and the summers can get very humid. In addition, the layout of the basement consists of a bedroom, bathroom, utility room, laundry room and great room.

I have been monitoring the RH and temp with a digital hygrometer and the numbers have been hovering around 60% RH and 59/60 degrees with our recent cool weather. I suspect once the weather stabilizes that the temperature will average somewhere between 62 and 66 degrees.

I have no problems keeping the doors open to the bathroom, bedroom and laundry room and so my question was what type of model do you recommend? Will a portable unit operate efficiently with my low temps? The basement is also ducted for heat and AC, but the AC never comes on due to the low temps.

Thank you for your time and you have a wonderful website.

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Answer

Hello Loring and thank you for your question.

I can understand why you are asking this question; the temperature of your basement is just hovering around the critical minimum for a portable unit to be fully effective.

In my view a portable unit will be sufficient but you would be best to choose a 70 pint model. A unit of this capacity will have a small margin of spare capacity as it should be good for 1200 to 1400 sq ft. This will compensate for the fairly slight loss of efficiency due to the temperature, and to the partitioning of your basement.

Many people dislike the fact the fact that dehumidifiers warm the air slightly but in your case this is an advantage as it should keep the temperature at a level closer to the ideal for a portable.

Given the size of your basement I am reluctant to recommend a specialized basement model due to the significantly higher purchase price. You may save money in the long run with a basement model but it is by no means certain. If your basement was a few hundred square feet larger my advice would be different.

I hope this helps.

Tom (Webmaster)