Why dehumidifier pint ratings changed, and what size to buy now

Your old dehumidifier says 70 pints, and the big one at the store says 50. The new one may not be weaker.

The Department of Energy changed the test. Energy Star explains that portable dehumidifiers are now tested at 65°F (18°C), where the old procedure used 80°F (27°C), to better reflect a basement. Cooler air holds less water, so the same machine reports a smaller number. The new efficiency standards took effect in June 2019, and Energy Star says the lower capacity labels began appearing in early 2020.

Everything below comes from Energy Star, GE Appliances, HouseFresh, Reviewed and Abt's listings. I haven't measured a dehumidifier myself.

The conversion

Energy Star gives this rough table for portable units, old rating through 2019 to new rating from 2020:

• 30 pints became 20
• 40 pints became 25
• 50 pints became 30
• 55 pints became 30 to 35
• 60 pints became 35
• 70 pints became 40 to 45
• 90 pints became 55

It warns that the change varies by model and that makers may have better figures. Treat it as a guide, since the two tests never measured exactly the same thing.

So a GE ADHE35BWF rated today at 35 pints/day sits where a 60-pint model sat in the old table. A Frigidaire FHDD5033Y1 at 50 pints/day falls between the old 70 and 90. If you're replacing a 2018 unit that was keeping up, you probably don't need the top of today's range. Energy Star's own check is simple: go by how much water you empty each day.

One warning about old advice. A chart that recommends 70 pints may well predate the change. Check its date.

A rating isn't a room result

Even the new test is a controlled number. HouseFresh weighs the bucket before and after a timed run, in a room at 20°C (68°F) and 52% humidity. From a three-hour run it estimates the Levoit Smart Dehumidifier at 18.75 pints a day, and it lists Energy Star's test data for that model at 24.5. Different conditions, different answer. Don't expect the label's pints in your bucket on an ordinary day.

Colder rooms are a separate problem. Energy Star warns that frost can form on the coils below 65°F, which can leave the compressor cycling without removing moisture, and it suggests a unit specified for lower temperatures. Abt lists the Frigidaire as running down to 41°F (5°C), which tells you it runs there. It doesn't tell you how many pints it pulls.

What size to buy now

Energy Star's chart is the one government source here. It doesn't say which test its pints assume, so I'm reading it as today's scale. It splits at 2,000 sq ft (186 m²):

• Slightly to moderately damp (50 to 75% humidity, an intermittent musty smell): 20 to 30 pints under that area, 30 or more over it
• Very damp (75 to 90%, damp spots on walls and floors): 25 to 40, then 40 or more
• Wet (90 to 100%, sweating walls or seepage, or laundry drying): 30 to 50, then 50 or more

Energy Star adds that it's better to oversize than undersize. GE's chart, which is a brand's rule of thumb, gives 50 pints 2,000 sq ft (186 m²) when very damp and 35 pints 1,400 sq ft (130 m²). For a 10 ft ceiling, GE says to add 25% to the area. HouseFresh is far stricter, reserving 50 pints for "very large spaces of around 1,200 sq ft." (111 m²). Reviewed says exact matching is difficult and recommends larger models.

Here's how I'd apply that:

• A damp bedroom or laundry room of 300 sq ft (28 m²): the low end of the chart covers it, and I'd take the smallest compressor unit you can find. HouseFresh's warning is against tiny Peltier models that don't do much.
• A 1,000 sq ft (93 m²) basement, very damp: 35 pints/day fits Energy Star's band and GE's chart. It costs $228.
• The same basement with seepage: GE's chart puts 35 pints exactly at its limit, so I'd buy 50 pints. That Frigidaire is $279.
• Anything above 2,000 sq ft (186 m²): 50 pints is the most I've listed here, and Energy Star's "or more" means one unit may not do it. Measure which part is actually damp.

I'd skip a bigger unit if you can't drain it. A bigger machine just fills its bucket faster. Prices checked November 2, 2026.

Dehumidifiers for basements sorts these by whether you have a floor drain. If you're also sizing a purifier for the same floor, what CADR means covers that rating. The home sizer handles the arithmetic for both.