Small dehumidifiers work just like refrigerators. They take in moist humid air, extract moisture from it and blow out less humid air back into the surroundings.
The moisture thus extracted is gathered in a collection tank that you will have to empty from time to time. With the bigger models, you may have an outlet that you can connect to a drain to remove the condensed water. However, this option is usually not available with smaller dehumidifiers- so you will have to dispose of the water manually.
Step by Step Description of How Small Dehumidifiers Work
Here is a step by step description of how the best small dehumidifier works.
- An electric fan at the inlet draws in humid air for processing. This is located at the grille in front of the dehumidifier machine.
- The warm and humid air is circulated over cold pipes. These pipes are maintained at low temperatures using a cool refrigerant flowing inside them. The refrigerant is driven through a compressor, just like refrigeration devices. This is where dehumidifiers resemble refrigerators and air conditioners in their operation.
- When the moist and warm air passes over these cold pipes, it cools down and loses its moisture content. Since the level of moisture that air can hold is dependent on its temperature, reducing the temperature will reduce its ability to contain moisture.
- The resulting air has considerably lower moisture content. However, since its temperature is low, it needs to be reheated to bring it back to room temperature. This is achieved by passing the resultant air over the hot condenser coils.
- The warm and dry air is blown back into the surroundings via another grille.
- The moisture that was extracted from the hot humid air drips down into a container located at the bottom of the device.
Why Water Does Not Overflow in Small Dehumidifiers
Several dehumidifier models have an automated system for ensuring that the water container does not leak through the overflow. It works in a very simple way. As the machine continues to operate, the container fills up with more and more condensed water. As the water level rises, the plastic starts to float. When the container is almost full, the float comes in contact with an electric switch and trips it. The fan and the compressor are switched off in the process. An indicator light starts glowing which signals you to empty the full container. Since the machine switches off when the tank is full, there is no risk of overflow.
Other Methods of Operation
Besides the refrigeration cycle, dehumidifiers can work in other ways. Some work through absorption or adsorption, both of which are processes for removing water from the air. People are more familiar with absorption but few know about adsorption. In adsorption, the water molecules in air cling onto the adsorption medium.
