Challenge 12L Dehumidifier

Product Information

The Pro Breeze 12L Low Energy Dehumidifier is a pretty affordable compressor dehumidifier as these things go, which is reflected in its rather basic design. So, why choose this one? Firstly, it's smart; using an app from your phone, you can control it from anywhere, even on the school run or while at the supermarket. You can even connect it to your Alexa or Google Home to operate it with the sound of your voice! Secondly, it is powerful; with the ability to extract 25L of water from the air and a six-litre tank capacity, you can rest easy knowing that this dehumidifier has your damp under control. Thirdly, although its power usage is much higher, it is super energy efficient; ElectriQ claims it is 50% more efficient than other standard dehumidifiers. We love that for our energy bills! Lastly, for the price, this dehumidifier doesn’t just control your home's humidity. It also purifies the air and eliminates terrible odours using a combination of UV sterilisation, an active carbon filter and a HEPA filter. In short, it works hard to keep you and your family feeling fit and healthy! Energy use: The one thing that sets this mini dehumidifier apart from its competition is its energy use. At 100W, this compact dehumidifier uses double the energy of the other low cost dehumidifiers in our round-up.

Transparency is really important to us and that's why we're always upfront about where we find our recommendations. We write about products that we feel offer the best value to most parents – the ones that our users would recommend to their own friends and family. If you’re running a dehumidifier, keep the door to the room the dehumidifier is in open, so that air can circulate through your home. But close the window, so that damp air outside – which will migrate towards drier spots – isn’t drawn to the drier air indoors. If you're looking for the best dehumidifier for the bedroom, then, in our opinion, it's all about finding a dehumidifier with low noise volume, and the Silentnight 39899 600ml Dehumidifier is one of the quietest dehumidifiers we've tested. The cheapest and smallest dehumidifiers on the market can often only extract 0.5L of water from the air per day – in many cases even less – but larger and more powerful dehumidifiers can extract up to 25L per day which can make a huge difference to your home's health if you struggle with damp issues and condensation. Unlike a compressor dehumidifier that passes air over a cold coil to condense the water from it, a desiccant dehumidifier uses a 'desiccant chemical' to absorb the moisture from the air. As a result, desiccant dehumidifiers are the best option for rooms that are likely to fall below 15°c, as at lower temperatures compressor and Peltier models can struggle to work efficiently.

How we tested

Beyond that, maintenance-wise, you just need to keep the dehumidifier clean. Unplug the machine on a regular basis and just run over it with a damp cloth, don’t use abrasive cleaners that could damage the plastic. Dehumidifiers can use a lot of energy, especially if used inefficiently. The electricity required to power a dehumidifier can be generated from a mixture of burning fossil fuels, renewables, gas and nuclear. But as this is mixed up in the grid, you can’t guarantee it’s coming from a renewable energy source.

To help with this, the Pro Breeze 12L Low Energy Dehumidifier benefits from 'storage' mode. To activate, just press and hold the sleep mode button for three seconds. This will cause the dehumidifier to stop collecting water and run the fan on high speed for around 30 minutes, followed by another 20 minutes at low speed. This process dries the dehumidifier out so you can safely store it away.And although it can't quite compete with the MeacoDry Arete One 12L Dehumidifier on energy efficiency, it is still relatively energy efficient, especially compared to other compressor dehumidifiers in the Pro Breeze range. The Pro Breeze 12L Low Energy Dehumidifier doesn't have Wi-Fi or App connectivity, so there's no set-up required. Once the refrigerant has settled you can just plug it in and turn it on. Design The advantage of this type of dehumidifier is that it works well in warm and cold spaces. The only downside is that they tend to release warm air into a room, which you may not want in an already-heated home. However, they are ideal for a cold garage, loft or conservatory as they can operate below 10 degrees, unlike a compressor dehumidifier. They are also much quieter, so they might be a preferable option for you to use in a bedroom. Their main disadvantage is that they use a lot more energy and therefore cost more to run. Refrigerant (compressor) dehumidifier Performance: Also capable of reducing moisture in a 15m² space, the Silentnight 39899 600ml Dehumidifier just does so at a slower rate than the ProBreeze 1500ml Mini dehumidifier, extracting 0.3L of water from the air per day in contrast to the ProBreeze's 0.5L.

Then there's noise levels to consider, although as most of cheap dehumidifiers use Peltier condensers noise levels are already lower than more powerful compressor dehumidifiers. All dehumidifier's should give their operating volumes (measured in dB) in the specifications. Whilst this dehumidifier is compact in stature, it is heavy, weighing in at 9.5kg. Pro Breeze have tried to make it as portable as possible by adding a fold-down handle to the top and built-in castor wheels to the base. And, whilst this Russell Hobbs number is cheaper upfront, running costs are higher, with the 20L dehumidifier using 440W of energy compared to Meaco's 20L Arete One which uses 216W on average. Plus, the Arete One offers a built-in air purifier which this model does not. Our trials showed that moisture absorbers won’t do much to reduce damp in a room that’s routinely used for drying laundry. So moisture absorbers can help with small day-to-day damp issues, but shouldn’t be relied upon for any serious damp-busting.According to learnmetrics.com, a dehumidifier uses between 300 watts and 700 watts of energy per hour, depending on size and efficiency. That’s not much - more than your fridge but less than things like kettles and hair dryers. What's the best dehumidifier to buy? There's no assembly required with this dehumidifier. However, as it's a compressor dehumidifier you do need to let it stand for at least six hours once it's been delivered to allow the refrigerant to settle before use.

Whilst this dehumidifier doesn't offer a specific laundry drying function, we still found it helpful at drying wet washing, although it took longer to do so than the MeacoDry Arete One Dehumidifier or Pro Breeze 20L Premium Dehumidifier with Special Laundry Mode which both offer a speedy dedicated laundry-drying boost mode. Ease of use: Like all of the low cost dehumidifiers on our list, functionality is basic, but that does make operation hassle-free. There is just one on/off button which you’ll find at the top of the dehumidifier. When it’s in operation a blue LED light will light up so you know it’s working. Noise levels This dehumidifier uses a Peltier condenser that means there's no noisy compressor to disturb you, however, that doesn't make the ProBreeze 1500ml Mini dehumidifier totally silent, there's still the noise of the fan to adjust to. I left it running in my bedroom overnight, and although the 40dBA noise is noticable and initially bothered me, I soon zoned it out. Plus, there’s no varying fan speed which means its white noise is easier to ignore. It's also worth considering noise levels and energy consumption before you invest in a dehumidifier. What's the quietest dehumidifier?Air filter: Some models come with a HEPA filter which helps to provide cleaner air in your home, which will be helpful for any allergy sufferers. Perfect for small houses and flats, Meaco designed its Arete range with the help of 2,000 customers over five years, which is why it is ultra-quiet and easily portable. Not much louder than a whisper (30dB), it has castor wheels to roll it from spot to spot throughout your home. Also, did we mention its dual purpose? The Arete One comes with medical-grade HEPA filters to help you care for your home and health. Manufactured in Britain, its features are optimised for the wet British weather and will remove up to 12 litres of moisture daily (perfect for when you've had your condenser tumble dryer running all day!). Feel free to leave it on and let it do its thing, costing you a cost-effective 5p per hour to run. Boasting an industry-leading five-year warranty, this is a dehumidifier that is well worth the investment and a brand you can trust to help solve your damp problem. It's also available in 10, 20 and 25l models. It might not win the award for the most attractive or ground-breaking dehumidifier on our list, but that's not to say that Challenge's offering is ugly. Yes, it's a plain white box, but it's hardly an eyesore— and it's no slouch in the performance department either. Depending on the settings you can extract up to 10 litres of water per day in this design, which has a water tank that measures 2.1litres. It has a good recommended room range that is larger than your average dehumidifier, and for this reason we think it’s great value. At 43dB it’s also very quiet in operation, which is reassuring if you want to use it through the night. It has just one setting and a very discreet water indicator on the side of the design that you’ll need to keep an eye on should you want to empty the water tank. It also comes with an auto-shut off feature so you needn’t worry about it overspilling.