Whole House Dehumidifiers: 24 Records, Eleven Machines
A whole house dehumidifier is a fixed unit that ties into a home’s ductwork, and the certified market for it is small. Against 511 portable models, the federal ENERGY STAR registry holds 24 whole-home records. We went through all 24 field by field. Behind them sit eleven distinct sets of specifications; the rest are repeat filings and the same specification under different brand names. The registry covers certified products only, so uncertified equipment is not counted here.
How this class differs from portables
The efficiency bar is roughly twice as high. For portable units the ENERGY STAR minimum is 1.70 L/kWh at or below 25 pints per day and 2.01 for the 25.01 to 50 pint class. For whole-home units with a case volume up to 8 cubic feet it is 2.22, and above 8 cubic feet it is 3.81. The permanently installed machine is required to be the more efficient one.
One detail follows from that. No model in the registry has a case volume above 8 cubic feet; the largest is 6.6. The 3.81 threshold currently applies to nothing on the list.
Capacities begin where portables stop. The class runs from 52.09 pints per day to 172.13, with a median of 65.0. Portable units hit a ceiling at 50.0 and nothing sits above it.
There is a top end to the programme as well. The Version 6.0 specification excludes dehumidifiers rated above 155 pints per day. The single registry entry above that line, a Santa Fe unit at 172.13, reached the market in May 2025, before Version 6.0 took effect on 1 October 2025.
Eleven specification sets behind 24 records
| Capacity, pints/day | IEF, L/kWh | Case, ft³ | kWh/year | Brands | Filed by | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52.09 | 2.23 | 2.0 | 503 | Honeywell Home | Resideo Technologies | 2 |
| 64.17 | 2.22 | 4.9 | 556 | Honeywell Home | Resideo Technologies | 2 |
| 65.00 | 2.25 | 4.4 | 628 | MOISWELL | Shenzhen Yinfeng | 6 |
| 65.00 | 2.35 | 3.3 | 632 / 1,023 | Aprilaire, Healthy Climate, Carrier | three separate filers | 3 |
| 85.00 | 2.35 | 3.3 | 821 / 2,391 | Aprilaire, Healthy Climate, Carrier | three separate filers | 3 |
| 85.62 | 2.45 | 5.4 | 419 | Santa Fe | Therma-Stor | 1 |
| 94.33 | 2.22 | 4.9 | 556 | Honeywell Home | Resideo Technologies | 2 |
| 102.69 | 2.63 | 5.4 | 565 | Santa Fe | Therma-Stor | 1 |
| 105.00 | 2.35 | 6.6 | 926 / 2,808 | Aprilaire, Healthy Climate | two filers | 2 |
| 127.51 | 3.26 | 5.6 | 842 | Santa Fe | Therma-Stor | 1 |
| 172.13 | 3.12 | 6.4 | 1,188 | Santa Fe | Therma-Stor | 1 |
ENERGY STAR registry export, 31 July 2026, all 24 whole-home records. Capacity per DOE Appendix X1. Rows are grouped where capacity, IEF and case volume match. Where two annual energy figures appear, the registry carries different values against otherwise identical fields.
One specification under six names, and under three
The MOISWELL row covers six records with identical figures throughout: 65.00 pints, an IEF of 2.25, a case volume of 4.4 cubic feet, 628 kWh a year, one filer in Shenzhen. The names differ: Admiral, Director, Marshal, with and without a suffix.
The rows at 65.00 and 85.00 pints with an IEF of 2.35 carry Aprilaire, Healthy Climate from Lennox, and Carrier. Three familiar names, one set of numbers, and the same certification date. At 105 pints only two remain; Carrier drops out of that row.
The multi-brand pattern we traced through portable units runs the same way at the premium end. Who files under which name across the whole registry is mapped in the ENERGY STAR registry breakdown.
An inconsistency inside the registry
Going through the fields turned up something that should not be there.
For the models at 65.00 pints with an IEF of 2.35, everything matches: capacity, efficiency, case volume, even the certification date. Annual energy does not. Aprilaire is listed at 632 kWh, Carrier and Lennox at 1,023. At 85 pints it is 821 against 2,391. At 105 pints, 926 against 2,808.
IEF is the ratio of water removed to energy consumed. Where capacity and IEF are identical, annual energy has to be identical too. Some of these filings therefore carry an error. Which ones, the registry does not say, and we are not going to guess.
Honeywell Home shows the same kind of thing from the other side: the 64.17 and 94.33 pint models are listed with the same annual figure of 556 kWh at different capacities.
The practical takeaway for a buyer is narrow. Do not take the annual energy column in this class at face value. Compare on IEF, which is computed by one method for everyone.
Who leads on efficiency
The class threshold is 2.22. Honeywell Home sits exactly on it, at 2.22 and 2.23. MOISWELL is at 2.25. The Aprilaire, Healthy Climate and Carrier group is at 2.35.
Santa Fe sits apart, at 2.45, 2.63, 3.12 and 3.26. Two of those are the only entries in the class above 3.0. The refrigerant differs as well: R-454B rather than R-32.
One line stands out. Santa Fe 4047100 is listed at 85.62 pints and 419 kWh a year; Aprilaire E100 at 85.00 pints and 821 kWh. Given the inconsistency above, those two energy figures should not be compared directly. On IEF the gap is 2.45 against 2.35. A fuller comparison of the two brands sits on the Aprilaire versus Santa Fe page.
When the class earns its place in Florida
A whole house dehumidifier does a job a portable cannot: drying every room through ducts that are already there, with no tank and no machine standing in the way.
The usual Florida reason for looking at one is an air conditioner that cools without drying. Why that happens is covered on the AC and humidity page and on the oversized AC page.
What the class asks in return: space for the unit, a tie-in to the ducts, a condensate route, and an installer. In a condo that path is usually closed, because building systems fall under the association rather than the resident, which is covered on the condo page.
One limit on this article. We hold almost no review data for this class, because whole-home units sell through HVAC channels rather than marketplaces and barely appear in our 62,317-review core set. So this page is built on the registry rather than on owner experience. What the reviews do cover sits in the Florida scorecard.
Frequently asked questions
How many whole-house dehumidifiers are there to choose from?
The federal ENERGY STAR registry holds 24 whole-home records covering eleven distinct sets of specifications. The rest are repeat filings and one specification carrying several brand names. Uncertified equipment is not in the registry.
Is a whole-house dehumidifier more efficient than a portable one?
Its certification threshold is higher: 2.22 L/kWh against 1.70 and 2.01 for the portable classes. The best models in the class reach 3.26.
What size whole-house dehumidifier do I need?
Capacities in the class run from 52 to 172 pints per day, with a median of 65. Sizing is done against the house and its ductwork rather than from a square footage table.
Are Aprilaire, Healthy Climate and Carrier dehumidifiers the same unit?
In the registry their capacity, IEF, case volume and certification date all match. The annual energy figures differ, which by itself points to an error in one of the filings.
Can I install a whole-house dehumidifier in a condo?
Usually not. The unit ties into ductwork, and building systems in a condo fall under the association rather than the resident.
Sources
- ENERGY STAR Certified Dehumidifiers registry, EPA and DOE. Export dated 31 July 2026, whole-home class, all 24 records. data.energystar.gov
- ENERGY STAR Dehumidifiers Key Efficiency Criteria, Version 6.0, effective 1 October 2025. energystar.gov
- ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Dehumidifiers, Version 6.0, eligibility criteria including excluded capacities.
- DOE test procedure: 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B, Appendix X1.
- Method notes: /methodology/