'Dehumifier' or 'Dry' selction on aircon.

[rexpotter]

Which one s more efficient electricity cost wise. Thanks

[flyingtlger]

Six of one, half a dozen of the other.....

[sometimewoodworker]

15 minutes ago, rexpotter said:

Which one s more efficient electricity cost wise. Thanks

Use an ammeter and then you can report, note every AC make will be different.

[mran66]

31 minutes ago, rexpotter said:

Which one s more efficient electricity cost wise. Thanks

Sure in typical Pattaya environment situation (higher temp environment) the dry mode uses less energy as the compressor is just controlled by difference of in and out air temperatures (so that core cooling is enough to keep condensing the water, but not  to cool the air to much lower temperature ), not by the absolute temperature in the room. As end result the room does not cool as much when in cool mode. Compressor runs less. But this of course depends on against what kind of temp reduction setting target you compare it to. If you just want to drop the temp say 1 deg, the difference is probably meaningless if any 

 

Then I would expect the situation be different if ourside temp is say 20 deg and humidity high and you want to dry the air without making it much colder, and your temp setting would be such that in cold mode the compressor would not run at all. In dry mode it would still done to keep condensing the water from air, regardless of what the absolute temperature is. 

 

In high temp environment like here, I think dry mode is not much different compared to setting the temp target in cool mode only say 1-2 deg below the temp outside, just the logic the computer is controlling the compressor is different. But due to the temperature reduction target and humidity level, the compressor run would not be much different 

 

So short answer to your question is it depends on circumstances (especially external temperature) and what you compare it to

 

[impulse]

Get'cha one of these power meters and run the comparison.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/benetech-gm86-wattmeter-monitor-a-watt-220v-10a2200w-i2473860264.html

 

Or one of the many other choices available on Lazada.

 

Back home (Texas), I used the AC if I wanted to drop the temperature, and the dehumidifier if all I wanted to do was knock down the humidity.  Especially if I was going to be gone for awhile.  Otherwise the place would get musty.  I have no firm data, because there were so many other loads when I was home that I didn't have while away, but I'd bet $$$ that the dehumidifier was cheaper to run.  Just based on the amount of noise the A/C made and the dehumidifier didn't make.

 

Please post back with your results.

 

[jacko45k]

Using the drier aims for a lower temperature so usually would consume more power. 

 

[rwill]

Not using them can save electricity.  What they do is force the AC to run every few hours even if the room temperature has not risen to the temperature setting.

[JBChiangRai]

No 2 manufacturers will implement dehumidifying the same.

 

Some run the compressor high for some time before switching to the slowest speed.

 

Some work by setting the temperature to 3 or 4 degrees lower but override the speed.

 

In the end it is going to whatever you are most comfortable with.  I found the dry setting on my bedroom A/C makes me too cold.

[Thjames]

18 hours ago, impulse said:

Get'cha one of these power meters and run the comparison.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/benetech-gm86-wattmeter-monitor-a-watt-220v-10a2200w-i2473860264.html

 

Or one of the many other choices available on Lazada.

 

Back home (Texas), I used the AC if I wanted to drop the temperature, and the dehumidifier if all I wanted to do was knock down the humidity.  Especially if I was going to be gone for awhile.  Otherwise the place would get musty.  I have no firm data, because there were so many other loads when I was home that I didn't have while away, but I'd bet $$$ that the dehumidifier was cheaper to run.  Just based on the amount of noise the A/C made and the dehumidifier didn't make.

 

Please post back with your results.

 

just how would you put that on your AC 🤔

 

how about taking a meter reading and running each for many hours at the same time over several days and see which one uses more (if you really wanted to know)

[impulse]

9 minutes ago, Thjames said:

just how would you put that on your AC

 

how about taking a meter reading and running each for many hours at the same time over several days and see which one uses more (if you really wanted to know)

 

My A/Cs in Thailand both plugged into the wall. 

 

[Brick Top]

I bought a new A/C about 6 months ago , its TCL brand 18.000 btu , it wasnt expensive from laxada around 11,500 but i am very impressed with it .

It dies have a Dry mode , so after reading your story i tied it for the first time just to see what it actually  does , normally i use the Auto mode on 27c.

Anyway , i put it on Dry mode today and in that mode the temperature on the A/C sets itself to 23c and cant be adjusted manually.  It quickly cooled my room to 23c and dropped the humidity down to 50%.

In Auto mode set at 27c the humidity level was 78% .

This is in Phuket by the way , were the humidity level is very uncomfortable at the moment , which i personally find difficult to live with in March and April .

[rexpotter]

22 hours ago, impulse said:

Get'cha one of these power meters and run the comparison.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/benetech-gm86-wattmeter-monitor-a-watt-220v-10a2200w-i2473860264.html

 

Or one of the many other choices available on Lazada.

 

Back home (Texas), I used the AC if I wanted to drop the temperature, and the dehumidifier if all I wanted to do was knock down the humidity.  Especially if I was going to be gone for awhile.  Otherwise the place would get musty.  I have no firm data, because there were so many other loads when I was home that I didn't have while away, but I'd bet $$$ that the dehumidifier was cheaper to run.  Just based on the amount of noise the A/C made and the dehumidifier didn't make.

 

Please post back with your results.

 

Based on what I have gathered from all of the comments etc, I think it would be more cost effective to have a dehumidifier. Deal is I am renting, a one year contract so it may not outweigh the cost of the initial purchase of that unit.

[impulse]

11 minutes ago, rexpotter said:

Based on what I have gathered from all of the comments etc, I think it would be more cost effective to have a dehumidifier. Deal is I am renting, a one year contract so it may not outweigh the cost of the initial purchase of that unit.

 

One year would be a short payout if you already have an AC and are considering about $150 for a dehumidifier.  If you're looking at the tiny $25 dehumidifiers, I found them almost adequate to keep a small closet dry.  Waste of money in a full sized room. 

 

A lot depends on your tolerance for sleeping temperature.  I know guys who are happy with a fan. and no AC at all.  But that's not me.  For me, I use the AC when I'm home and the dehumidifier when I'm going to be gone more than a day.  Sometimes, for weeks on end.  This trip, 10 months so far.

 

I'd suggest you look at the efficiency labels on most appliances nowadays, which tell you the expected operating cost.  That's probably as good as anything to predict the difference between them, and to estimate a payout.  It will also depend on your circumstances.

 

[rexpotter]

2 hours ago, impulse said:

 

One year would be a short payout if you already have an AC and are considering about $150 for a dehumidifier.  If you're looking at the tiny $25 dehumidifiers, I found them almost adequate to keep a small closet dry.  Waste of money in a full sized room. 

 

A lot depends on your tolerance for sleeping temperature.  I know guys who are happy with a fan. and no AC at all.  But that's not me.  For me, I use the AC when I'm home and the dehumidifier when I'm going to be gone more than a day.  Sometimes, for weeks on end.  This trip, 10 months so far.

 

I'd suggest you look at the efficiency labels on most appliances nowadays, which tell you the expected operating cost.  That's probably as good as anything to predict the difference between them, and to estimate a payout.  It will also depend on your circumstances.

 

Yes, always the other issue, quality.

[johng]

2 hours ago, rexpotter said:

Based on what I have gathered from all of the comments etc, I think it would be more cost effective to have a dehumidifier.

If you already have the aircon just run it at a temperature 3-4 degrees below outside air temp and it will "naturally" de-humidifie the air in the conditioned room,  when the evaporator (inside the room) is cold then condensation forms on it (like a cold beer on a hot day) drawing water (humidity) from the air.

If it gets too cold for you then increse the temperature  on the aircon remote the humidity will stay low for quite a while  rinse and reapeat when you feel hot again.

When the evaporator is cold the compressor is running so eating electricity the longer the compressor runs the bigger your electricity bill,dry mode or a very low temperature setting will run the compressor for longer.

Myself I just set the temperature to 27 degrees not dry mode thats fine for most of the time untill the very few nights the outside temperature goes below 27 degrees which is not that many on the eastern seaboard of Thailand, up in the mountains its obviously cooler so perhaps open the windows on cool nights mosquitos,motorcycles,karaoke and barking dogs permitting.

[rexpotter]

(mosquitos,motorcycles,karaoke and barking dogs permitting). You forgot Disco's with enormous bass blaster sound ruining all of our lives every night.

[johng]

34 minutes ago, rexpotter said:

You forgot Disco's with enormous bass blaster sound ruining all of our lives every night.

Kinda covered in the Karaoke category  but I certainly  sympathise with those suffering from heavy bass noise  as its virtually impossible block out or mitigate.

 

I myself have experienced it at  2 different locations the culprit much to my surprise where both times  "students" paying homage to their teachers  on national teachers day  these where "students"  who thought it was perfectly acceptable to setup a magawatt  sound system and blast "meditation" music  for want of a better description

at sound levels that vibrated windows and doors  from  before sunrise

till sunset in a dense residential area.

I would have thought any teacher would have taught respect for others among teachings but I thought wrong.

[jacko45k]

19 hours ago, impulse said:

My A/Cs in Thailand both plugged into the wall. 

None of mine do, that is 4. All have their own breakers in the breaker box. 

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

I'm not bothered about the cost but I am fed up with my AC dripping water. They are regularly serviced but after about 4-5 months the main bedroom one which is used by far the most drips. This has happened before in other places I have lived, some with new ACs and some with older models and in different rooms.

Should I run it colder than 24? I usually leave the Mode in auto.

Any suggestions?

[Rampant Rabbit]

37 minutes ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

I'm not bothered about the cost but I am fed up with my AC dripping water. They are regularly serviced but after about 4-5 months the main bedroom one which is used by far the most drips. This has happened before in other places I have lived, some with new ACs and some with older models and in different rooms.

Should I run it colder than 24? I usually leave the Mode in auto.

Any suggestions?

 Ive  found this due to poor  drainage  pipes on them, I re  installed  2  of  mine with new drain pipes and they have never  dripped  since, the third  I didnt do as the drain was in the  floor and I suspect has a  dip in  it where water sits  and  pools. This  one  fills  up in the drain tray and pipe with a  clear  jelly which I wash out every 5  months I also stick a wet vac  on the pipe to suck the sludge  out then pour  bleach down it. I bought aircons all new with an easily removal drain tray as it was a  big problem before. If they made the drain trays with a  wider  drain hole  and a  wider  drain pipe it would help a  lot.

[scubascuba3]

On 3/9/2024 at 10:31 AM, Brick Top said:

I bought a new A/C about 6 months ago , its TCL brand 18.000 btu , it wasnt expensive from laxada around 11,500 but i am very impressed with it .

It dies have a Dry mode , so after reading your story i tied it for the first time just to see what it actually  does , normally i use the Auto mode on 27c.

Anyway , i put it on Dry mode today and in that mode the temperature on the A/C sets itself to 23c and cant be adjusted manually.  It quickly cooled my room to 23c and dropped the humidity down to 50%.

In Auto mode set at 27c the humidity level was 78% .

This is in Phuket by the way , were the humidity level is very uncomfortable at the moment , which i personally find difficult to live with in March and April .

isn't 23⁰ too low? i also have TCL and on cool mode 25-27⁰ easily low enough, actual temperature usually down to 1⁰ lower than unit.

 

But i hear that dry mode is cheaper than cool mode, which I don't understand if it's colder than cold mode

[Brick Top]

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

isn't 23⁰ too low? i also have TCL and on cool mode 25-27⁰ easily low enough, actual temperature usually down to 1⁰ lower than unit.

 

But i hear that dry mode is cheaper than cool mode, which I don't understand if it's colder than cold mode

Me to , i dont understand also , 

I dont know if your TCL unit is the same as mine . On mine once i press the Dry mode it automatically sets the unit to 23c and the fan speed to 3 , which is locked at these settings unlike the other modes were the temperature and fan speeds can be adjusted. 

23c is as you mentioned far to cold , although it does remove the humidity. 

I am now wondering if my unit as a fault were in Dry mode the temperature settings cant be adjusted ?.

 

[johng]

In order to dry the air the indoor unit called the "evaporator" needs to be cold  for that to happen the outside unit with the compressor needs to run  the compressor uses the electricity the more it runs the more it costs  therefore "dry" mode will cost more.

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, johng said:

In order to dry the air the indoor unit called the "evaporator" needs to be cold  for that to happen the outside unit with the compressor needs to run  the compressor uses the electricity the more it runs the more it costs  therefore "dry" mode will cost more.

Except every post on google comes up with Dry mode being cheaper and more efficient due to the compressor working at lower speeds.

 

But says only use Dry mode for short periods like a couple hours

[johng]

6 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Except every post on google comes up with Dry mode being cheaper and more efficient due to the compressor working at lower speeds.

total crap, to remove moisture  from the air the compressor has to work making the evaporator cold that is the only way moisture/humidity is removed.

[scubascuba3]

9 hours ago, johng said:

total crap, to remove moisture  from the air the compressor has to work making the evaporator cold that is the only way moisture/humidity is removed.

ok find a link because every one i checked said it's cheaper

[SAFETY FIRST]

On 3/8/2024 at 10:14 AM, rexpotter said:

Dehumifier' or 'Dry' selction on aircon.

Which one

I'm no expert but I'm sure the dehumidifier will create heat to remove moisture. 

 

Over the many years I've worked on a few projects for my company stacking offshore drilling rigs. Dehumidifiers are used in different areas of the rig, accommodation, switchgear rooms etc., these areas are always hotter, but a very dry heat. 

 

Not sure if you'd like to live in a hotter home/condo. 

 

 

[SAFETY FIRST]

16 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

But says only use Dry mode for short periods like a couple hours

Does it say why? 

Will it damage the AC unit? 

or 

Is it bad for your health? 

 

[jacko45k]

21 hours ago, Brick Top said:

I am now wondering if my unit as a fault were in Dry mode the temperature settings cant be adjusted ?.

No, my Dyson does it, set to dry mode on the remote and there is no ability to set a temperature. A thermometer in the room told me it was 23 degC which I found too cool. It seems to cycle more, with the fan stopping and starting during the night. I prefer to use regular cool, l set to 25-26 and low fan or  fan on Auto, plus a slow ceiling fan. 

[johng]

18 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Except every post on google comes up with Dry mode being cheaper and more efficient due to the compressor working at lower speeds.

 

But says only use Dry mode for short periods like a couple hours

How can a compressor work at lower speed if it only has 1 speed ?

Yes an inverter compressor can run at slower speed  but the lower the speed the lower the cooling capacity.

To draw moisture out of the air the evaporator unit (inside the cooled space)  needs to be cold.  Condensation forms on the cold metal evaporator  just like it forms on a very cold glass of water sitting on a table on a hot humid day.

If you ever have the misfortune of the aircon drain pipe blocking up you'll find that quite a few liters of water can be removed overnight

causing damage to furniture and any electronic equipment under the dripping water.

 

Having humidity below about 40% can cause discomfort in the eyes nose and lungs.