New Changes to Dehumidifier Categories

If you use estimating software in your company, you may be aware that dehumidifier categories were adjusted earlier this year.

In fact, dehumidifier categories have changed frequently over the years.

It all started when the industry began charging for dehumidifiers on water losses in the mid 1970s. There was only one size dehumidifier, so there was no confusion about what was used.

By the mid-1990s, technology was advancing rapidly, and several different sizes were available, but generally “large” and “small” worked fine for everyone. Then low grain refrigerants were introduced, some models got larger, some models got smaller and things got complex.

Estimating software companies felt trapped in the middle between equipment manufacturers, insurance companies and contractors, and tried to take a “hands-off” approach to categorizing dehumidifiers.

In the early 2000s, estimating software companies listed sizes by models. Later, they listed performance ranges for dehumidifiers and tried to leave it to the contractor to determine where a dehumidifier would be categorized. The performance of the dehumidifiers was rated in pints per day (PPD) at the AHAM (Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers) test condition of 80°/60% RH. Unfortunately, the performance ranges overlapped. Xactware, in particular, felt overlapping ranges were necessary to accommodate the practices of the industry.

Recently, Xactware decided to remove the overlap in ranges for dehumidifiers because contractors were being consistent about how they were categorizing dehumidifier models. This was done after an industry-wide survey. Based on this survey, Xactware updated the AHAM ranges on line items for commercial dehumidifiers to remove any overlap as noted in the chart below. This change went into effect in November 2013.

Item Code           Previous AHAM Range      New AHAM Range

WTR DHM           Up to 70 ppd                          Up to 69 ppd

WTR DHM>         60 to120 ppd                          70 to 109 ppd

WTR DHM>>      110 to 160 ppd                       110 to 159 ppd

WTR DHM>>>   150 ppd and higher             160 ppd and higher

Kevin Fisher is the education manager of the Restoration Sciences Academy’ education department, with direct responsibility for course scheduling, registration, technical support, curriculum development and marketing and sales-related activities. Fisher has been with the industry as a technical training instructor since 1999.