Dehumidifier Dimensions: Will It Actually Fit Where You Want It?
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The three 50-pint dehumidifiers in our catalog are all about 24 inches tall and 11 to 12 inches deep, but they range from 14.4 to 24.25 inches wide. The GE is the narrowest by nearly ten inches over the Frigidaire, so if the unit has to fit an alcove, a closet or a gap beside a furnace, width is the specification that decides the purchase rather than capacity.
Among the three 50-pint units we list, height and depth are nearly identical but width is not: 14.4 inches for the GE, 15.43 for the Midea and 24.25 for the Frigidaire. Same rated capacity, nearly ten inches of difference in the space it occupies.
Figures are published cabinet dimensions and exclude any clearance the manufacturer requires around the unit.
Dehumidifiers are sold on pints per day and reviewed on noise. Neither of those tells you whether the unit fits beside the furnace. Capacity is easy to compare and, within a class, does not vary much: every unit on this page carries the same rating. Footprint varies enormously, and it is the specification most likely to rule a unit out of a basement installation.
The measurements, side by side
| Product | Width (in) | Depth (in) | Height (in) | Rated (pints/day) | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GE GE 50 Pint Dehumidifier | 14.4 | 11.4 | 24.1 | 50 | Check price |
| Midea Midea 50 Pint Dehumidifier | 15.43 | 11.1 | 24.25 | 50 | Check price |
| Frigidaire Frigidaire 50 Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi | 24.25 | 12.19 | 24.25 | 50 | Check price |
Read down the height column and the three are within a quarter of an inch of each other. Read down the depth column and they are within about an inch. Read across the width column and the Frigidaire is 68 percent wider than the GE. That single number is the whole decision if the unit has to live somewhere specific.
Where each one fits
Narrowest cabinet
GE GE 50 Pint Dehumidifier
At 14.4 inches wide it is the one to reach for when the opening is tight. Note that it is the only one of the three without a published Wi-Fi feature, so remote monitoring is not part of the package.
- Capacity Pints Doe2019
- 50
- Auto Defrost
- true
- Auto Restart
- true
- Continuous Drain
- true
Shallowest cabinet
Midea Midea 50 Pint Dehumidifier
About an inch wider than the GE but the shallowest here at 11.1 inches, which is the more useful dimension when the unit has to sit against a wall in a walkway.
- Capacity Pints Doe2019
- 50
- Energy Star
- true
- Wifi
- true
- Continuous Drain
- true
Widest, with the largest tank
Frigidaire Frigidaire 50 Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi
Needs a genuinely open spot. The width buys the biggest tank of the three, which is worth something only if you cannot run a drain hose.
- Capacity Pints Doe2019
- 50
- Tank Gallons
- 2.7
- Wifi
- true
- Continuous Drain
- true
The two dimensions the spec sheet does not give you
Cabinet dimensions describe the box rather than the installation. Two further constraints apply, and neither appears on the spec sheet.
- Airflow clearance. A dehumidifier pulls air in one face and pushes it out another. Boxing it in starves it, and a starved unit does not hit its rating no matter what the label says.
- Hose bend radius. The drain outlet needs the hose to leave the unit and turn without kinking. A kinked hose backs water up into the tank, which quietly returns you to emptying a bucket.
We do not hold manufacturer-specified minimum clearances for any of these three units, and they differ by model. Check the manual for the unit you buy before building it into an alcove or a cabinet.
How to choose on footprint without ignoring everything else
Footprint should eliminate options, not select them. Work in this order.
Measure the narrowest point of the route and the destination
A unit that fits the spot but not the stairwell or the door is still the wrong unit.
What to look for: The tightest width along the whole path, plus the destination opening, minus clearance for airflow and the hose.
Confirm the capacity you actually need
Choosing the narrow unit is only sensible if it is still the right size for the space.
What to look for: Square footage and dampness level through the calculator above. Size My Air's basis is 10 pints per day per 500 square feet of moderately damp space, scaled up for wetter conditions.
Then decide on drainage
Drainage determines whether tank capacity matters at all, and tank capacity is what the widest cabinet is buying you.
What to look for: A drain lower than the outlet means gravity works and tank size stops mattering, which usually makes the narrower cabinet the better buy.
Only then compare features
Wi-Fi, Energy Star certification and auto restart are real differences, but none of them help if the unit does not fit.
What to look for: The feature set on whichever units survived the first three steps.
If the space is a crawl space rather than a basement, the constraints are different again and the choice between a portable and a ducted unit changes; we work through that in whole-house versus portable dehumidification.
The short version
- All three 50-pint units are within a quarter inch of two feet tall and within about an inch on depth.
- Width is where they diverge sharply: 14.4, 15.43 and 24.25 inches.
- Capacity tells you nothing about footprint; all three remove the same rated 50 pints per day.
- Measure the opening before choosing, and leave clearance for airflow and for the drain hose to bend.
Sources
- Dehumidifiers — ENERGY STAR
That dehumidifier capacity is measured in pints per 24 hours, and that the capacity needed depends on the size of the space and the conditions in it.
- Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedure for Dehumidifiers — US Department of Energy (Federal Register)
That a dehumidifier's capacity is defined by federal test procedure as the volume of water in pints removed from ambient air per day, normalized to a standard ambient temperature and relative humidity.
- A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home — US Environmental Protection Agency
That indoor humidity should be kept below 60 percent, ideally between 30 and 50 percent relative humidity.
- Guide to Air Cleaners in the Home — US Environmental Protection Agency
That a portable air cleaner should have a clean air delivery rate (CADR) large enough for the size of the room, that a higher CADR filters more particles and serves a larger area, and that most portable air cleaners carry a CADR rating on an AHAM label.
- Guide to Air Cleaners in the Home (room sizing) — US Environmental Protection Agency
That the room area should be compared against the maximum recommended room size on the packaging; that an open floor plan means considering the entire space the cleaner would serve; and that ceilings above 8 feet mean sizing up.
- Guide to Air Cleaners in the Home (furnace filters) — US Environmental Protection Agency
That a furnace or HVAC filter should be rated at least MERV 13, or as high as the system will accommodate, and that a dirty or overloaded filter does not work well.
- Air Changes per Hour FAQ — AHAM Verifide
That the AHAM Verifide seal gives a suggested room size based on 4.8 air changes per hour, alongside reduction rates for tobacco smoke, dust and pollen known as clean air delivery rates (CADR), and that certified units are independently tested by a third-party laboratory.
- Air Filtration Standards — AHAM Verifide
That AHAM's standard for measuring an air cleaner's efficacy is the Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR), which indicates the volume of filtered air delivered with separate scores for tobacco smoke, pollen and dust, and that a higher CADR means faster filtering.