hOmeLabs 4000 Sq Ft Dehumidifier 70 Pint Energy Star Safe Mid Size Portable Dehumidifiers for Basements & Large Rooms with Fan Wheels and Continuous Drain Hose Outlet to Remove Odor

Foreword: These are two of the most highly rated and popular dehumidifiers on Amazon. So I thought it may be a good idea to compare them side by side since I happen to own both. I’ve owned Frigidaire for about 9 month and hOmeLabs for about a week.

EPA recommends indoor relative humidity levels 30-60%. Both of these units are well capable of maintaining that. Another note is that both of these units are appliances that do electrical work, therefore, they do generate heat. If you live in a climate where you don’t mind a certain amount of heating (Pacific NW, Midwest or New England), these are perfect. If you live in the South (TX, FL, etc), regular A/C unit should generally do an OK job of controlling humidity, but if you want an additional de-humidification capacity, you’re much better off investing in a portable A/C unit. Most of them have a de-humidification mode and typically draw out comparable amount of moisture. The other great benefit there is that they pump the heat outside (through the window exhaust) resulting in cool dry air inside.

Back to comparison. In general, both of these units are really good and will get your humidity down. I would recommend both of them heartily, but they do differ in finer points, which is what detailed below:

QUALITY OF THE BUILD: Both of these units are solid. However, Frigidaire is physically smaller and much more polished. Somehow the plastic enclosure of hOmeLabs unit feels flimsier.
Winner: Frigidaire

EASE OF MANEUVERABILITY: Both of these units come with casters attached and are breeze to roll around. Frigidaire has a handle on top and hOmeLabs has 2 handles on the sides.
Winner: Tie

EASE OF OPERATION: It is super easy to operate both of these units. No manual needed at all. The buttons and lights are practically identical too. One difference is that Frigidaire hydrometer goes in increments of 5% whereas hOmeLabs specifies the humidity in 1% intervals.
Winner: Tie

MAINTAINING HUMIDITY LEVEL (AUTO ON/OFF): This is where both units fail in my opinion. The idea here is that you can set a humidity level to maintain and the unit will automatically turn off when it reaches it and turn back on when the humidity rises again. Nice idea. The reality is that these units collect and store water, as such the humidity around them tends to increase quite rapidly once the airflow ceases. Frigidaire deals better with this problem by extending the window for off/on. For example, if you set the desired level at 50%, it’ll run until it hits 45%, and it won’t turn on again until humidity rises to 55%. It usually keeps off for about 10 mins, with the overall humidity variation during this time 1-3%. hOmeLabs unit is just a fail when it comes to this feature. It turns off as soon as it goes 1% below the set level (49% in my example) and turns back on 5% over. For some reason this takes about 1-2 mins, with no measureable variation of humidity elsewhere in the area.
Winner: Frigidaire (but still fail)

COLLECTION BUCKET: Both of these units come with ~1.6gal buckets that collect water. This is where you get to practically experience quality of the build as this is the part of the dehumidifier you will interact with the most. Aside of build and plastic quality here, one big practical difference is that Frigidaire includes a splash guard so you don’t have to worry about the water splashing all around while you carry it to the sink or tub. No such luck with hOmeLabs unit.
Winner: Frigidaire

WATER LEVEL INDICATOR: If you’re using the bucket for water collection, this is the part of the dehumidifier you will most likely to look at the most to try to figure out whether you need to empty the bucket now or wait till later. This is where hOmeLabs stands out. It has a bright green bar that floats on top of the water to indicate its level. It also feature a much more of vertical opening for the level to show. In contract, it’s practically impossible to see the level of the water in Frigidaire. There’s nothing floating on top and contrary to the pictures of the product, it does not come with light blue backlight illumination.
Winner: hOmeLabs

HOSE DRAINING: I haven’t used it on either unit, but both units have it. hOmeLabs has it at the back, and Frigidaire has it on the side.
Winner: Tie

TEMPERATURE: Both of these unit generate heat, as I mentioned above. This is a basic part of the refrigeration cycle. Unlike with AC or a fridge, the resulting heat is mixed with exhaust air and is pumped back into the room. Both of these units generate a comparable amount of heat based upon my totally nonscientific method of sticking my hand into the exhaust.
Winner: Tie

DIRECTION OF EXHAUST: Both of these units draw air from the back and pump it out through the side. One notable difference is that Frigidaire throws it up at about 45 degree angle, resulting in a much better air circulation and, thus, much more uniform humidity level throughout the area. hOmeLabs, shoots the air straight out, which results in the much more intense air circulation around the floor. It also ends up not mixing the air as well in the overall area: after about 1.5 hr of operation, the humidity at knee level was ~40% (down from 65%), whereas near the ceiling was 50-55% (also, down from 65%), as measure by a network on AccuRite hydrometers. Eventually it does all mix however, but be ready for this disparity. Depending on what you want, this is could be a good or bad.
Winner: Tie

SPEED OF EXHAUST: Frigidaire has 3 speeds: Hi, Med, Lo. hOmeLabs has 2: Normal and Turbo. One thing to note here is Normal for hOmeLabs is roughly equal to Lo for Frigidaire, and Turbo is roughly equal to Medium. There’s no equivalent to Hi in hOmeLabs unit.
Winner: Frigidaire

NOISE LEVEL: Both of these units are very comparable. My purely subjective perception is that Frigidaire is slightly louder. Measuring with sound meter and operating at Medium speed (Frigidaire) and Turbo (hOmeLabs), Frigidaire produces ~59dB at about a foot away from the front and hOmeLabs produces ~57dB. Frigidaire is quite noticeably louder at Hi speed (~65dB).
Winner: hOmeLabs

POWER CONSUMPTION: This is where there’s a big difference. All draws are measured with P3 P4400 Kill A Watt appliance. hOmeLabs draws about 1W at idle (non-operating) and 560W operating at Turbo mode. Furthermore, every time it turns on there’s a momentarily spike in current such that the lights momentarily flicker on the whole circuit. In comparison Frigidaire draws 0.4W at idle and 470W operating at Medium and 485W operating at Hi. It does not have any problems with momentary spikes at unit power on.
Winner: Frigidaire

CONCLUSION: While both of this units are very good and will get the job done, considering all of the above I’m giving Frigidaire 5 stars (but really A-) and hOmeLabs 4 stars (but really B+). Hopefully you’ll find this useful as you make your decision.