DeLonghi DNC65 Dehumidifier Review – A Quiet Dehumidifier For Home Use?
The DeLonghi DNC65 Dehumidifier is ideal for use as a Garage Dehumidifier or Boat Dehumidifier. It is not always the best dehumidifier for home use although it is a light-weight, portable and relatively quiet dehumidifier.
DeLonghi appliances are well respected and the DeLonghi DNC65 Dehumidifier is one of the best in the DeLonghi range. The DNC65 is unlike other DeLonghi models in being a desiccant unit.
Desiccant dehumidifiers use a water absorbing rotor to extract water rather than condensing the water on to a cold coil like the traditional refrigerant type more commonly used as a dehumidifier for homes.
A desiccant dehumidifier is many things a refrigerant model is not. It is a low temperature dehumidifier, a light weight dehumidifier and a quiet dehumidifier. All three advantages are obtained because a desiccant unit does not need a refrigeration system.
Because water is absorbed by a desiccant rotor a refrigeration system to condense the water is not needed. This means that the problem of ice formation on the evaporator coil is avoided. Ice formation in a refrigerant unit reduces performance in temperatures below 18C/65F and makes most units virtually useless as the ambient temperature falls toward freezing point. The DeLonghi DNC65 will operate effectively at temperatures as low as 2C/36F so is a true low temperature dehumidifier.
The replacement of the heavy compressor and other refrigeration components with a much lighter desiccant rotor accounts for the lighter weight of the desiccant type. The DeLonghi DNC65 Dehumidifier weighs only half as much as an equivalent refrigerant unit so is a true light-weight dehumidifier.
The compressor in a refrigerant unit is noisy. Because the DeLonghi DNC65 Dehumidifier is of the desiccant type it is truly a quiet dehumidifier; or is it?
Actually, no. None of these appliances is quiet. The noise comes mainly from the fan and a compressor merely adds a bit more noise to the equation. A desiccant unit has two fans; one to move the air the other to blow warm air over the rotor to dry it. So the DeLonghi DNC65 Dehumidifier is more accurately described as a “quieter dehumidifier” or a “relatively quiet dehumidifier”.
Being a relatively quiet dehumidifier is still an advantage but next time a salesman tells you such and such a unit is “whisper quiet” await your chance and sit next to him in the cinema. Whisper all the way through the film and see how relaxed he is after two hours!
Doubtless he will gloss over the disadvantages of the desiccant type too. The DeLonghi DNC65 Dehumidifier will cost more to run than a refrigerant unit. It is mostly down to the cost of heating the air to dry the rotor.
That heat has to go somewhere and the DeLonghi DNC65 Dehumidifier will heat the air it returns to the room by 10-12C/50-54F above the ambient temperature. This is, of course, an advantage if you are using the DNC65 as a garage dehumidifier or a boat dehumidifier, or as a dehumidifier for home use in the winter. But what if you are an allergy sufferer, run your appliance year round and keep the windows closed? A mixed blessing may be.
It’s a case of “horses for courses”. The DeLonghi DNC65 Dehumidifier is one of the best dehumidifiers you can choose if you are looking for a garage dehumidifier, a dehumidifier for a boat, an unheated conservatory, or for a caravan.
It is not the best dehumidifier for home use. It costs more to run and at normal room temperatures a refrigerant unit will be at least as effective. Don’t be misled by phrases like “whisper quiet”, you probably wouldn’t want to sleep with it in your bedroom. It may be a very poor choice for allergy sufferers, depending on how they manage their condition.
In summary, the DeLonghi DNC65 is truly a low temperature dehumidifier and a light weight dehumidifier. It is an excellent choice for use as a garage dehumidifier or boat dehumidifier.
Desiccant dehumidifiers have not replaced the good old refrigerant type just yet. They have simply extended the range of applications in which an affordable dehumidifier for home use can be effective and offer good value for money.
