Short answer: a ducted whole house dehumidifier costs roughly $2,000 to $3,800 installed — $1,500 to $2,800 for the unit and $500 to $1,000 for professional installation, according to the published cost guide of HVAC manufacturer Bryant. Those are a manufacturer’s own figures on a page carrying no publication or revision date. It is worth that money when the whole house sits above 60% relative humidity in summer, not when one room does.
One portable unit in the damp room costs a tenth as much and solves a single-room problem completely. The whole-house machine earns its price when the moisture load is spread across every floor, when there is nowhere acceptable to put a portable, or when nobody is willing to think about a bucket again.
A whole house dehumidifier is a fixed appliance that ties into your heating and cooling ductwork and dries the air for the entire building rather than one room. It is the right answer far less often than the people selling them suggest, and far more often than people with three portables scattered around the house realise. This page covers what one actually costs installed, how to size it, what the installation involves, and the specific situations where a $200 portable beats a $3,000 system.
Every number below comes from a manufacturer specification sheet, an ENERGY STAR document or the federal test procedure. Where a figure is a market range rather than a specification, the source is named in the table.
What is a whole house dehumidifier?
There is a formal definition, and it matters, because a lot of what is sold as a “whole house dehumidifier” does not meet it. ENERGY STAR defines a whole-home dehumidifier as one that “operates with ducting to deliver return process air to its inlet and to supply dehumidified process air from its outlet to one or more locations in the dehumidified space.” A portable, by the same document, operates “within the dehumidified space without the attachment of additional ducting.”
In other words: the duct connection is what makes it a whole-house unit, not the size, the price or the word on the box. A 90-pint machine standing on a basement floor with no ducts attached is a large portable, however it is marketed.
That distinction has teeth. The Department of Energy tests the two categories under different conditions and holds them to different efficiency standards, and manufacturers publish coverage claims for ducted operation that a standing unit will not deliver.
| Ducted whole-house unit | Portable dehumidifier | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Basement, crawl space, mechanical closet or attic, plumbed and wired in place | Anywhere with an outlet, in the room being dried |
| Air path | Ducted to the HVAC return, or its own supply and return runs | Draws and discharges into the same room |
| Water | Permanent gravity drain or condensate pump | Bucket, hose or built-in pump |
| Control | Wall humidistat, often integrated with the thermostat | Dial or panel on the machine |
| Installed cost | About $2,000–$3,800 (Bryant, manufacturer figure) | Typically a few hundred dollars, no installation |
| Who installs it | HVAC contractor; 6–10 hours for a complex job (Bryant, manufacturer figure) | You, in ten minutes |
What a whole house dehumidifier costs
Two numbers matter and they are usually quoted together in a way that hides which is which: the equipment, and the labour to put it in. They move independently. A high-capacity unit dropped next to an accessible furnace can cost less all-in than a mid-size unit that needs new duct runs through a finished attic.
| Line item | Typical range | What moves it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ducted unit, equipment only | $1,500–$2,800 | Capacity is the single biggest driver; smart controls and quiet operation add to it | Bryant (manufacturer figure, undated) |
| Standalone high-capacity unit, equipment only | About $1,150–$1,400 at list, currently discounted to about $975–$1,200 | Built-in pump, filter grade, Wi-Fi control | AlorAir published prices (Sentinel HDi90, WHD100) |
| Professional installation | $500–$1,000 | Whether the ductwork and power are already where the unit needs to go | Bryant (manufacturer figure, undated) |
| Complex installation | 6–10 hours labour | New duct runs, a dedicated circuit, or difficult drainage | Bryant (manufacturer figure, undated) |
| Installed total, ducted | About $2,000–$3,800 | Sum of the two rows above | Bryant (manufacturer figure, undated) |
A useful sanity check before you take a quote: ask the contractor to price the equipment and the labour on separate lines. If the equipment line is well above the manufacturer’s own store price for the same model, you are being charged a markup rather than a machine.
Worth knowing: the cheapest genuine whole-house option is often not a whole-house unit at all. If your damp is confined to the basement — which it usually is — a correctly sized portable running at 50% down there will dry the floors above it, because air moves upward through a building. Work through basement sizing and basement humidity targets before pricing a ducted system.
Why a whole-house 80-pint is not a portable 80-pint
This is the part almost every buying guide gets wrong, and it changes which machine you should buy.
The federal test procedure for dehumidifiers, at 10 CFR Part 430, Appendix X1, sets different ambient conditions for the two categories:
| Category | Test dry-bulb temperature | Test relative humidity |
|---|---|---|
| Portable dehumidifier | 65 ± 2.0 °F | 60 ± 2% |
| Whole-home dehumidifier | 73 ± 2.0 °F | 60 ± 2% |
Warmer air holds more water, so the same hardware produces a bigger number at 73°F than at 65°F. A whole-house unit therefore carries a flattering pint rating relative to a portable, before anyone has exaggerated anything. And many manufacturers quote a third, larger number still: capacity at 80°F and 60% RH, the older AHAM condition.
Two manufacturers publish both figures for the same machine, which makes the gap easy to see:
| Unit | At 80°F / 60% RH | At 73°F / 60% RH (DOE whole-home) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Fe Ultra98 | 98 pints/day | 72 pints/day | −27% |
| AlorAir Sentinel WHD100 | 90 pints/day (AHAM) | 70 pints/day | −22% |
A third number circulates in crawl space and restoration marketing: capacity “at saturation,” measured in hot, near-100%-humidity air rather than at any DOE or AHAM condition. AlorAir rates the Sentinel HDi90 at 198 pints per day at saturation and 90 pints per day at AHAM conditions — the same machine, more than double the headline. Saturation figures are not wrong, they are simply measured in conditions your house will never be in.
So when you compare a ducted unit against portables, compare like for like. The pint rating explainer covers the 2019 change that moved portable testing from 80°F to 65°F and cut portable labels by typically around 30%, with the exact drop depending on the model. Set that against a whole-house unit rated at 73°F or 80°F and the ducted machine can look roughly 1.3 to 1.5 times larger than it really is.
What size whole house dehumidifier do I need?
Start with the manufacturers’ own coverage claims, then treat them with suspicion, because there is no standard behind them. Every figure below is what the maker publishes:
| Model | Rated capacity | Coverage claimed by the manufacturer | Electrical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honeywell Home DR65 | 65 pints/day | Up to 1,800 sq ft | — |
| AlorAir Sentinel WHD100 | 90 pints/day AHAM (70 at DOE whole-home) | 2,300 sq ft | 115 V, 5.9 A |
| Santa Fe Ultra98 | 98 pints/day at 80°F/60% (72 at 73°F/60%) | Up to 2,300 sq ft | 115 V, 5.9 A, 15 A circuit |
| AlorAir Sentinel HDi90 | 90 pints/day AHAM | Up to 2,600 sq ft | 115 V, 5.56 A |
| Honeywell Home DR90 | 90 pints/day | Up to 2,800 sq ft | — |
| Honeywell Home DR120 | 120 pints/day | Up to 3,500 sq ft | — |
| AprilAire E080 | 80 pints/day | Whole houses up to 4,400 sq ft | 9 A min. circuit ampacity, 16 A max. breaker |
| AprilAire E100 | 100 pints/day | Whole houses up to 5,500 sq ft | 12 A min. circuit ampacity, 20 A max. breaker |
Read that table twice and the problem jumps out. AprilAire claims 4,400 sq ft for an 80-pint unit. Santa Fe claims 2,300 sq ft for a 98-pint unit. Honeywell claims 2,800 sq ft for 90 pints. The bigger machine covers half the area of the smaller one, on paper.
Nobody is lying. There is simply no test standard for “coverage,” so each manufacturer assumes its own moisture load, ceiling height and target humidity. Square footage on a dehumidifier box is marketing, not engineering.
How to size it properly: ignore the coverage claim and size on moisture load. Work out the pints per day your space actually needs using the dehumidifier size calculator, note the conditions that number is expressed in, then convert it to the condition the whole-house unit is rated at before you compare. If you are sizing for a basement or a crawl space specifically, basement sizing and crawl space sizing already do the arithmetic.
Two structural points that no square-footage chart captures. A house with a sealed crawl space and a basement has three thermal zones, not one, and a single ducted unit will hold the conditioned floors at target while the crawl space drifts. And a house with a genuine water problem — seepage, a failed grade, a leaking supply line — is not a sizing problem at all. Read why is my house so humid before spending anything.
Whole house vs portable: when each one wins
Here is the honest comparison, with the cases where the cheap answer is the right answer stated plainly.
| Situation | Better choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One damp basement, rest of the house fine | Portable | Costs a tenth as much and dries the floors above by convection anyway. This is the majority of cases. |
| Whole house sits above 60% RH all summer | Whole house | Multiple portables in multiple rooms cost more to buy, run and empty than one ducted unit. |
| Sealed or encapsulated crawl space | Purpose-built crawl space unit | Different problem, different machine — see the crawl space guide. |
| Oversized or short-cycling air conditioner leaving the house clammy | Whole house | The AC is cooling without dehumidifying. A ducted unit handles latent load independently of temperature. |
| Nowhere acceptable to put a portable | Whole house | Finished living space, no floor drain, no tolerance for a machine in the corner. |
| Damp is seasonal, six to ten weeks a year | Portable | A fixed system that runs two months a year takes a very long time to pay back $3,000. |
| Two or more portables already running continuously | Whole house | At that point the running cost, noise and emptying have already exceeded what one unit would cost to own. |
| Visible water entering the structure | Neither, yet | Drainage and grading first. A dehumidifier against bulk water is a bucket under a running tap. |
There is one more asymmetry worth naming. A portable is reversible. If you buy the wrong size, you have lost $250 and gained a spare machine. A ducted system that turns out to be oversized is a permanent installation that short-cycles, and short-cycling removes less water per hour than steady running does.
Installation requirements
The installation is what separates the $2,000 job from the $3,800 one, so it is worth understanding what your contractor is actually being asked to do. The figures below come from AprilAire’s published installation instructions for the E080 and E100 and Therma-Stor’s specification sheet for the Santa Fe Ultra98.
Ducting: four legitimate configurations
AprilAire’s installation instructions for the E080 and E100 set out four ducting configurations, and the choice affects both cost and performance:
- Ducting to the HVAC system — basement and attic installations. The usual arrangement and what most quotes assume. Within it you choose between return to return, which AprilAire names as the preferred installation because the unit draws air from and returns dehumidified air to the HVAC return duct, and return to supply, which discharges into the supply plenum instead. Either way the unit’s static pressure ceiling applies — 0.4″ w.c. maximum on the E080, 0.6″ w.c. on the E100.
- Ducting to the HVAC system — closet installations. For homes with a dedicated mechanical space, ducted from inside the closet.
- Ducting for stand-alone or non-ducted installations. Permitted in basements and crawl spaces. Cheapest to install, but you are then treating one zone, not the house.
- Ducting for two-zone installations. A single unit ducted to serve two separate zones of the house.
Duct collars on the AprilAire units are 10″. The Santa Fe Ultra98 uses a 6″ or 10″ round inlet and a 10″ round outlet, and offers a separate ducting option to bring in fresh outdoor air for ventilation.
Electrical
All the common residential units run on a standard 115–120 V single-phase supply, but they are not extension-cord appliances:
| Unit | Supply | Minimum circuit ampacity | Maximum breaker | Minimum wire |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AprilAire E080 | 110–120 VAC, 60 Hz, 1 phase | 9 A | 16 A | AWG 14 |
| AprilAire E100 | 110–120 VAC, 60 Hz, 1 phase | 12 A | 20 A | AWG 14 |
| Santa Fe Ultra98 | 115 V, 1 phase, 60 Hz | 5.9 A running | 15 A circuit | — |
If there is no suitable circuit near the intended location, running one is part of the job and part of the price. This is one of the three things Bryant names as pushing an installation into the 6-to-10-hour band.
Drainage
A whole-house unit has no bucket, which means it needs somewhere for the water to go, permanently and without supervision.
- Drain connection. AprilAire specifies a 3/4″ PVC slip × 3/4″ MNPT fitting with 3/4″ nominal drain tubing. The Santa Fe Ultra98 uses a 3/4″ threaded female NPT connection.
- Slope. AprilAire’s instruction is unambiguous: “Always maintain a constant downward slope.” Gravity drains fail where a hose sags.
- Condensate pan. AprilAire requires one whenever the unit is installed in or above a finished space. A dehumidifier in an attic above a bedroom ceiling is a leak waiting for a pan.
- Pump. If there is no drain below the unit, you need a condensate pump. Some units have one built in; the AlorAir Sentinel HDi90 is sold with an integrated pump.
Clearance and temperature
AprilAire specifies 15″ minimum clearance on either side for filter access and 6″ minimum for airflow. Operating range is 50–104°F for the E080 and E100; the Santa Fe Ultra98 is rated 49°F minimum to 95°F maximum.
That low-end figure is one of the real advantages of purpose-built equipment. A standard portable starts icing up below about 65°F and most stop being useful below 41°F, which is why they struggle in unheated basements — see why dehumidifiers freeze up. A unit rated to 49 or 50°F keeps working through shoulder seasons that stop a portable.
Running cost and energy use
A whole-house dehumidifier is a continuously running compressor appliance, and the electricity is a real cost rather than a rounding error. Manufacturers publish the draw: the Santa Fe Ultra98 uses 670 watts at 80°F and 60% RH.
To price your own, multiply the wattage by the hours it will run, divide by 1,000 for kilowatt-hours, and multiply by your own rate per kWh from your utility bill. A 670-watt unit running 8 hours a day uses about 5.4 kWh a day, or roughly 160 kWh a month. The dehumidifier running cost guide works through the arithmetic and the settings that cut it.
On efficiency, ENERGY STAR rates whole-home units on a different scale from portables. Portables are graded by pint capacity; whole-home units are graded by case volume — defined in the federal test procedure as “the rectangular volume that the product case occupies, exclusive of any duct attachment collars or other external components.”
| Category | Size class | Minimum Integrated Energy Factor |
|---|---|---|
| Portable | ≤ 25 pints/day | ≥ 1.70 L/kWh |
| 25.01–50 pints/day | ≥ 2.01 L/kWh | |
| ≥ 50 pints/day | ≥ 3.30 L/kWh | |
| Whole-home | ≤ 8.0 ft³ case volume | ≥ 2.22 L/kWh |
| > 8.0 ft³ case volume | ≥ 3.81 L/kWh |
The practical use of that table is comparison shopping. Two units with the same pint rating can sit either side of the 3.81 L/kWh line, and over a machine that runs for a decade the difference is worth more than the price gap between them.
Maintenance and lifespan
A ducted unit needs less attention than a portable, because nobody has to empty it, but it needs the attention it does need on schedule — and it is easier to forget a machine in an attic than one in the hallway.
- The filter is the whole job. Whole-house units carry real filtration: MERV-13 on the Santa Fe Ultra98, MERV-10 on the AlorAir Sentinel WHD100, a washable MERV 8 on the AprilAire E080. A blocked filter chokes airflow, and reduced airflow across a cold coil is the classic route to icing.
- Check the drain line every season. A sagging or blocked drain on a unit with no bucket does not stop the machine; it puts the water somewhere else.
- Keep the clearances clear. Storage stacked against a mechanical-room unit undoes the 6″ airflow specification.
- Confirm it is still cycling off. A unit that never reaches setpoint is either undersized, fighting a new moisture source, or losing capacity.
On lifespan, published figures disagree and it is worth knowing both. Bryant states 8 to 15 years with proper maintenance. Carrier is more conservative, saying a well-maintained whole-home unit “can have a lifespan of up to 5–8 years or even longer.” Warranties sit in between: AlorAir offers 6 years limited with the first 2 years full coverage on the Sentinel line, and Therma-Stor lists a 6-year warranty on the Ultra98.
The two ranges barely overlap — they meet only at the 8-year mark — so take the following as our own estimate rather than a sourced range: somewhere around 8 to 12 years for a maintained unit, with the warranty telling you what the manufacturer is willing to bet. Portables land at 5 to 10 — the reasoning is in how long dehumidifiers last. Against a $3,000 installed cost, the difference between a 6-year and a 12-year service life matters more than a few hundred dollars on the purchase price.
What to set it to
The EPA recommends keeping indoor relative humidity below 60% and ideally between 30% and 50%. Bryant recommends 45% to 50% for a whole-house system specifically, which sits inside the EPA band and reflects what a ducted unit can hold without running constantly.
Set it once and leave it. Chasing 40% in a house that is comfortable at 48% costs electricity for no benefit, because each percentage point of drying is harder than the one before. Room-by-room targets are in ideal indoor humidity levels, and the general principle in settings and placement.
Frequently asked questions
Is a whole house dehumidifier worth it?
It is worth it when the humidity problem is genuinely house-wide — every floor above 60% relative humidity through the summer, or an air conditioner that cools without drying. At roughly $2,000 to $3,800 installed (Bryant, manufacturer figure), it is poor value against a single damp basement, which a portable costing a tenth as much will fix. The honest test: if you would need three or more portables running continuously, the ducted unit is cheaper to own.
How much does it cost to install a whole house dehumidifier?
HVAC manufacturer Bryant puts professional installation at $500 to $1,000 on top of $1,500 to $2,800 for the unit, giving about $2,000 to $3,800 all in. Those are manufacturer figures from a guide that carries no date. Installation lands at the top of that range when the job needs new duct runs, a dedicated electrical circuit or awkward drainage — Bryant describes those as 6 to 10 hour jobs. Ask for equipment and labour on separate lines of the quote.
Can I add a whole house dehumidifier to my existing HVAC?
Yes, and that is the normal installation. AprilAire lists return-to-return as the preferred configuration, with the unit drawing from and discharging back into the HVAC return duct. Return-to-supply is also permitted but is limited by static pressure — 0.4 inches w.c. on the E080 and 0.6 inches w.c. on the E100. You need ductwork the unit can reach, a 115–120 V circuit with enough ampacity, and somewhere for condensate to drain.
What size whole house dehumidifier do I need for a 2,000 sq ft house?
Manufacturer coverage claims are not comparable, so square footage alone cannot answer this. AprilAire rates its 80-pint E080 for houses up to 4,400 sq ft; Santa Fe rates its 98-pint Ultra98 for up to 2,300 sq ft. There is no test standard behind either number. Size on moisture load instead: work out the pints per day your space needs, then check what test condition the unit's rating is quoted at before comparing.
Is a whole house dehumidifier better than a portable one?
Better for a different job, not better outright. A ducted unit treats the whole building, drains permanently, filters the air properly and works at lower temperatures — AprilAire rates the E080 down to 50°F against roughly 65°F for a typical portable. A portable costs a few hundred dollars, needs no installation and can be moved or returned. For one damp room, the portable wins on every measure that matters.
Do whole house dehumidifiers use a lot of electricity?
They draw real power continuously. Therma-Stor rates the Santa Fe Ultra98 at 670 watts at 80°F and 60% RH, which is about 5.4 kWh a day if it runs 8 hours. Compare efficiency using the ENERGY STAR Integrated Energy Factor rather than the wattage: whole-home units must reach 2.22 L/kWh up to 8.0 cubic feet of case volume and 3.81 L/kWh above that.
Next steps
- Work out the capacity you actually need: dehumidifier size calculator
- Understand the number on the box: dehumidifier pint ratings explained
- If the problem is really the basement: the complete basement dehumidifier guide
- If the problem is really the crawl space: crawl space dehumidifiers
- What it will cost to run: dehumidifier running costs
- Cheaper things to try first: how to lower humidity in your house
Sources
- US Department of Energy — 10 CFR Part 430 Subpart B, Appendix X1: Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Dehumidifiers (test conditions: portable 65°F, whole-home 73°F, both at 60% RH; case volume definition)
- ENERGY STAR — Dehumidifiers Key Efficiency Criteria (whole-home definition; Integrated Energy Factor thresholds by case volume)
- ENERGY STAR — Dehumidifier Testing and Capacity (the 2019 change from 80°F to 65°F for portables)
- US Environmental Protection Agency — Mold Course, Chapter 2: Why and Where Mold Grows (indoor RH below 60%, ideally 30–50%)
- AprilAire — Model E080 & E100 Dehumidifier Installation Instructions (electrical, duct configurations, static pressure, drainage, clearances, operating range)
- AprilAire — E080 product specifications and E100 product specifications (capacity and coverage claims)
- Therma-Stor / Santa Fe — Santa Fe Ultra98 specification sheet (capacity at 80°F and 73°F, coverage, watts, amps, CFM, MERV-13, duct sizes, operating range)
- AlorAir — Sentinel WHD100 specifications and price and Sentinel HDi90 specifications and price
- Honeywell Home / Resideo — Whole-Home Dehumidification System (DR65, DR90, DR120 capacities and coverage)
- Bryant — Whole House Dehumidifier Cost & Installation Guide (equipment, installation and total cost ranges; labour hours; 45–50% target; 8–15 year lifespan)
- Carrier — How Much Is a Dehumidifier? (lifespan of 5–8 years or longer)
Ducted whole-house models on the market
These are the units you will actually be quoted for. Capacities are manufacturer specifications; where a model publishes both an AHAM and a DOE figure, both are shown, because the gap between them is large and installers quote whichever flatters the unit. The caveat column reflects recurring themes in aggregated owner and installer reports, not our own bench testing. Compiled September 2026 — how we research.
| Model | Capacity | Suited to | Notable | Main caveat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honeywell Home DR65 | ~65 pint | Smaller homes or a single zone | Effective humidity control and relatively quiet when the ducting is done properly | Evaporator and power-supply reliability appear repeatedly in reports |
| Honeywell Home DR90 | ~90 pint | Homes to roughly 2,800 sq ft | Holds a target RH well in hot, humid conditions | Compressor and refrigerant failures are the significant risk |
| Honeywell Home DR120 | ~120 pint | Large homes, heavy moisture load | Holds a house around 45–50% RH and then runs a low duty cycle | Compressor and sealed-system reliability — the weakest point of the range |
| AlorAir Sentinel HDi90 | ~90 pint | Cold crawl spaces, awkward drainage | Runs down to about 34°F, built-in condensate pump, ~210 CFM | Around 58 dBA and a basic standard filter |
| AlorAir Sentinel WHD100 | 90 pint AHAM / 70 pint DOE | Permanent HVAC integration | ~229 CFM with MERV-10 filtration | Little independent field data — performance and longevity hard to verify |
| Santa Fe Ultra98 | 98 pint / ~72 pint DOE | Large homes, permanent installation | Build quality, extraction and noise are all strong for the class | Thin independent long-term data despite the premium positioning |
| AprilAire E080 | 80 pint | Stated coverage to ~4,400 sq ft | Around 45 dB — the quietest here — with MERV-8 filtration and well-documented efficiency | Gravity drainage only; no pump option |
| AprilAire E100 | 100 pint | Stated coverage to ~5,500 sq ft | The same documented efficiency as the E080 with more capacity | Minimum operating temperature around 50°F — poor fit for cold crawl spaces |
Three things in that table decide more installations than capacity does. Minimum operating temperature splits the field cleanly: the AlorAir HDi90 works down to about 34°F while the AprilAire E100 stops around 50°F, so in an unheated crawl space the larger unit is the wrong one. Drainage is the second: the AprilAire units are gravity-only, which means the install has to find a fall to a drain, while the HDi90 carries its own pump and can go almost anywhere. And the AHAM-versus-DOE gap is the third — the AlorAir WHD100 is a 90-pint machine on one standard and a 70-pint machine on the other. Same hardware, two numbers, and a quote will use the bigger one.
On noise, the spread is wider than the specs suggest it should be: roughly 45 dB for the AprilAire E080 against about 58 dBA for the AlorAir HDi90. For a unit in a crawl space that difference is academic. For one in a basement below a bedroom it is the whole decision.
Buying the box is not the expensive part. Installation runs 0 to ,000 on top, and a ducted unit fitted badly — wrong return placement, no fall on the condensate line, undersized duct — will underperform a portable that cost a tenth as much. If you are pricing these units online, price the install at the same time, and treat a quote that does not specify duct sizing and condensate routing as incomplete.