Flooded homes, basements and garages: Recent floods have devastated large parts of Europe, causing severe storm and water damage. Following the catastrophic floods, the task is now to set about repairing the damage. Sales of submersible pumps, heaters and, in particular, dehumidifiers are currently booming in DIY stores and online market places. However, the high demand for dehumidifiers with powerful compressor technology has also seen a spike in the number of misleading offers on the market. Necessity is the mother of invention! Sellers who do not have dehumidifiers which protect against mould on offer are quick to claim that their devices, unsuitable to combat excessive air humidity, provide a silver bullet to the problem.
Reading the product description of some Peltier dehumidifiers (also known as semiconductor, electric or mini dehumidifiers), you are lead to believe that these devices can work wonders, rendering compressor devices redundant in many areas of application. However, doubt then soon creeps in when, weeks after having made your proud purchase, your damp cellar refuses to dry out and mould thrives despite the Peltier dehumidifier.
With this guidebook series, we would like to debunk the myths about Peltier dehumidifiers, spread by untrustworthy suppliers, by providing you with the facts so that you can make an informed decision when it comes to purchasing a dehumidifier.
Myth 5: ‘’For small rooms, a semiconductor dehumidifier is also sufficient, for example, just to prevent mould growth’’
In order for the room air to reach a state of well-being without the risk of mould, the relative humidity should be around 50% RH. Even in a very small room with a floor area of only 10m², with the best conditions – new building, good insulation – more than 600ml of water must be dehumidified from the air every day to create this climate. In an old building it would be more than 1,000 ml.³
A Peltier dehumidifier, however, manages in the best case under ‘’test conditions’’ at 30°C/80 % r.h about 300 ml a day, in a real environment in practice it is rather only 100 ml, i.e. considerably less. With this extremely low dehumidification performance, semiconductor dehumidifiers are therefore not even remotely suitable for such purposes.
Fact: Peltier dehumidifiers are useful “niche” products
These devices are ideal for keeping wardrobes and shoe cabinets, pantries or windowless bathrooms dry. Nothing more, nothing less.
When nothing short of dry will do – dehumidifiers with compressor technology are the answer
Only adsorption dehumidifiers or condensation dehumidifiers with compressor technology are suitable for keeping rooms larger than 10 m² dry and drying out rooms after water damage.
TTK series mobile comfort dehumidifiers
TTK series industrial dehumidifiers
TTK series industrial dryers
VPR+ wall-mounted dehumidifiers
DS series swimming pool dehumidifiers
Use our convenient online tool to calculate what dehumidification capacity you need.
By entering the intended use of your device on our easy-to-use online tool, you receive a personalised dehumidifier recommendation, ensuring you find the right dehumidifier for your needs – from the compact Peltier dehumidifier to the large comfort dehumidifier!
