Best dehumidifier for a basement: the ENERGY STAR 65 F figures, pump lift and lowest operating temperature each maker prints
ENERGY STAR lists the Midea Cube MAD50PS1QWT-A at 49.67 pints/day and IEF 2.01; Midea prints 41 to 95 F and a 14 ft pump. Why hOmeLabs' 50 is an 80 F number.
- Verified
- Updated
- 10 min read
- 18 sources
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OwnerSpec compares published manufacturer specifications, certification listings and sourced technical documents. Unless a page explicitly states otherwise, OwnerSpec has not laboratory-tested or used the products it compares. Editorial policy
Short answer
For a basement, the pick is the Midea Cube MAD50PS1QWT-A with built-in pump. ENERGY STAR’s certified list prints it at 49.67 pints/day under the DOE 65 F test with an integrated energy factor of 2.01 L/kWh, and Midea’s manual prints 41 to 95 F operation, a 14 ft maximum pump height and a bucket that holds up to 4.25 gallons. The runner-up is the Frigidaire FHDP5033Y1: ENERGY STAR lists 49.95 pints/day at IEF 2.01, and Frigidaire’s own sheet prints 49 and 51.5 dBA, 41 to 89 F, a pump rise up to 16.4 ft and a UL listing, figures Midea does not print. With a floor drain, the gravity-drain Midea MAD50C1AWS-A does the same 49.74 pints/day with no pump. Skip every unit here if the basement has standing water or seepage: a dehumidifier removes vapour, not a puddle. And skip the hOmeLabs “120 pint” units until you read how that number was tested.
The picks
A basement with no floor drain and a window or sink above the unit
Midea Cube 50 pint with pump, MAD50PS1QWT-A
ENERGY STAR data: 49.67 pints/day per Appendix X1, IEF 2.01 L/kWh, 515 kWh/yr. Midea manual: 41 to 95 F, max pump height 14 ft, bucket to 4.25 gallons, one year limited warranty
Wants the printed dBA, the UL listing and the longest pump reach here
Frigidaire FHDP5033Y1, 50 pint with pump
Frigidaire sheet 02/26: 50 pints/day, IEF 2.01, 1.9 gal bucket, 115 V, 470 W, 8.8 A, 49 and 51.5 dBA, UL and cUL listed, ENERGY STAR. Manual: 41 to 89 F, pump rise and distance up to 5 m (16.4 ft), one-year warranty
The cheaper pump unit, where the lift is short and unprinted is acceptable
Midea 50 pint EasyDry with pump, MAD50P1AWS-A
ENERGY STAR data: 49.74 pints/day, IEF 2.01, 525 kWh/yr. Midea manual: 115 V 60 Hz, 41 to 90 F, auto defrost, pump hose 1/4 in OD supplied, one year full warranty; no pump lift height printed
A floor drain within hose reach, so no pump to pay for or fail
Midea 50 pint EasyDry, gravity drain, MAD50C1AWS-A
ENERGY STAR data: 49.74 pints/day, IEF 2.01, 525 kWh/yr. Midea manual: 115 V 60 Hz, 41 to 90 F, auto defrost, continuous drain on a 5/16 in ID hose with female thread, one year full warranty
If there is water on the floor after rain, this is the wrong page: a dehumidifier evaporates a damp slab, not a puddle, so start with the sump pump and battery backup review and come back once the floor stays dry.
How was this shortlist built?
Every figure is a published one, read on 2026-09-30 from the document named beside it. Nothing was run, metered or tested by this site. Listings were shortlisted from current Amazon results, kept or rejected on the published specification, and confirmed in stock the same day.
Capacity comes from ENERGY STAR’s certified dehumidifier dataset, which prints each model’s pints per day “per Appendix X1” and its IEF. Appendix X1 of 10 CFR 430 Subpart B tests a portable dehumidifier at 65 F and 60 percent relative humidity and reports pints collected in 24 hours; IEF is litres of water removed per kilowatt-hour.
Two brands in the brief fell out. Honeywell’s TPFIT50PWK page says the product is discontinued and sold out, and the only Honeywell 50 pint family in the ENERGY STAR data (49.66 pints/day, IEF 2.01) has no in-stock listing. Toshiba and Vremi have no entry in the dataset at all, so neither is on the page.
ENERGY STAR’s sizing table puts a very damp room (75 to 90 percent RH, damp spots on walls and floors) at 25 to 40 pints/day under 2,000 sq ft and 40 plus above it, and a wet room (90 to 100 percent, sweating walls or seepage) at 30 to 50 and 50 plus. A basement usually sits in the second or third row, which is why this page is the 50 pint class.
How do the units compare on paper?
Published figures only. “Not printed” means the cited document carries no value.
| Unit | ENERGY STAR capacity (65 F) and IEF | Operating range | Drain | Bucket | Listing and dBA | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midea Cube MAD50PS1QWT-A | 49.67 pints/day, 2.01 L/kWh, 515 kWh/yr | 41 to 95 F | Pump, max height 14 ft; hose mode | Up to 4.25 gal | Neither printed by Midea | 1 year |
| Frigidaire FHDP5033Y1 | 49.95 pints/day, 2.01 L/kWh, 520 kWh/yr | 41 to 89 F | Pump, rise and distance up to 16.4 ft; gravity hose 1/2 in or larger | 1.9 gal | UL and cUL listed; 49 and 51.5 dBA | 1 year |
| Midea EasyDry MAD50P1AWS-A | 49.74 pints/day, 2.01 L/kWh, 525 kWh/yr | 41 to 90 F | Pump, lift not printed; 1/4 in OD pump hose supplied | Not printed | Neither printed by Midea | 1 year |
| Midea EasyDry MAD50C1AWS-A | 49.74 pints/day, 2.01 L/kWh, 525 kWh/yr | 41 to 90 F | Gravity, 5/16 in ID hose with female thread | Not printed | Neither printed by Midea | 1 year |
| GE ADHE50PWF | Not in the dataset under this model number | 41 to 90 F | Pump, max lift 16 ft; garden hose gravity drain | Not printed | Neither printed by GE | 1 year |
| hOmeLabs 50 pint with pump | Not in the dataset; hOmeLabs rates 50 pints at 80 F 60% RH | Not printed | Pump, lift not printed | Not printed | Neither printed by hOmeLabs | Not printed |
The 50 pint boundary is real. ENERGY STAR’s Version 6.0 criteria, effective 1 October 2025, require an IEF of 2.01 L/kWh from 25.01 to 50 pints/day and 3.30 L/kWh at 50 and above, and every certified unit here sits a fraction under 50, where 2.01 applies. The capacity ratings guide explains why the same unit carried a 70 pint label before 2019.
Midea Cube 50 pint with pump: buy it or skip it?
Buy it if the basement has no floor drain and the water has to climb to a laundry sink or a window. Midea’s Cube manual prints a maximum pump height of 14 ft, an operating range of 41 F (5 C) to 95 F (35 C), a bucketless mode that runs on the included hose or a garden hose, and a bucket that fills to 4.25 gallons on the 35 and 50 pint models. ENERGY STAR lists the pump model MAD50PS1QWT-A at 49.67 pints/day, IEF 2.01 and 515 kWh a year, certified 20 October 2025.
The flaw is what Midea leaves off the page. Its product page prints 50 pints/day, 4,500 sq ft, 41.54 lb and a one-year warranty, and nothing about the DOE basis, the listing body or the noise. Frigidaire prints all three. Midea’s manual also says not to run the drain hose outdoors at or below 32 F.
Skip it if a drain sits within hose reach on the floor: the pump is the part you are paying for and the part that can fail, and the Cube without the pump is listed at the same 49.67 pints/day.
Frigidaire FHDP5033Y1: buy it or skip it?
Buy it if you want every number printed. Frigidaire’s specification sheet (version 02/26) gives 50 pints/day, an IEF of 2.01 L/kWh, a 1.9 gallon bucket, 115 V, 470 W, 8.8 A, 49 dBA on low and 51.5 dBA on high, low-temperature operation, a built-in pump, UL and cUL listing and ENERGY STAR. The owner’s guide adds a 41 F (5 C) to 89 F (32 C) operating range and a pump whose maximum distance and rise may be 5 m (16.4 ft) from the unit. ENERGY STAR’s dataset lists it at 49.95 pints/day and 520 kWh a year, certified 25 August 2025.
The flaw is the bucket. At 1.9 gallons it holds well under half what the Cube holds, so a Frigidaire run without the hose or pump is a Frigidaire that stops several times a day in a wet basement.
Skip it if you will never connect a hose. The Wi-Fi FHDD5034Y1 is the same class without the pump, listed by ENERGY STAR at 49.71 pints/day and IEF 2.01.
Midea EasyDry MAD50P1AWS: buy it or skip it?
Buy the MAD50P1AWS-A if the lift is short and the price gap to the Cube matters. Midea’s manual for the C1, P1, PS and WS family prints 115 V 60 Hz, a 41 F (5 C) to 90 F (32 C) range, automatic defrost, a supplied pump hose of 1/4 in outer diameter and a one year full warranty. ENERGY STAR lists 49.74 pints/day, IEF 2.01 and 525 kWh a year.
The flaw is the missing lift figure. The manual prints no maximum pump height, so it cannot be checked against the Cube’s 14 ft or the Frigidaire’s 16.4 ft.
If a floor drain is within reach, buy the MAD50C1AWS-A instead: same manual, same 49.74 pints/day in the dataset, and a continuous drain on a 5/16 in ID hose with a female thread, with no pump to buy or replace.
Skip both if the basement drops below 41 F: no unit on this page is specified below it.
Measure the room before you pick a class
Do not buy on the box number. ENERGY STAR’s own testing page says a portable unit tested to the 2019 procedure “will likely report a smaller capacity” than the same unit under the old 80 F test, and its table pairs an old 50 with a new 30. Run the dehumidifier size calculator and buy the class it returns. ENERGY STAR says it is better to oversize than undersize; EPA’s guide says to keep indoor humidity below 60 percent, ideally between 30 and 50.
What about GE, hOmeLabs and the whole-house units?
GE ADHE50PWF. GE’s manual prints the longest lift here, 16 ft, and a 41 to 90 F range, but GE’s own product page says the model is no longer being manufactured, and the ENERGY STAR dataset lists GE’s certified 50 pint family under ADSE50 model numbers, not this one. It was in stock on 30 September 2026; buy it knowing it is a discontinued unit.
hOmeLabs. The listing title reads “MAX 120 Pint at 95 F, 90% RH”. hOmeLabs’ product page rates the same unit at 50 pints per day at 80 F and 60 percent RH, which is the pre-2019 condition, and the ENERGY STAR dataset lists hOmeLabs only at 24.48 and 32.46 pints/day (models HME0088 and HME0089).
Whole-house. The dataset lists the AprilAire E080 at 65.00 pints/day and IEF 2.35, and Santa Fe units from 85.62 to 172.13 pints/day, all flagged Most Efficient. None made the picks: the AprilAire listings showed a lead time rather than stock, and Santa Fe’s specification pages would not load, so the Compact70 on Amazon has no readable figure behind it.
What goes wrong?
Frost. ENERGY STAR says frost can form on the coils below 65 F and can make the compressor cycle on and off without removing moisture. Every unit here with a printed range stops at 41 F; below that, the answer is heat, not a bigger unit.
The pump lifts less than the window. Midea prints 14 ft on the Cube, Frigidaire 16.4 ft, GE 16 ft, and Midea nothing on the EasyDry. Measure the rise to the discharge point before choosing between them.
An older unit in the corner. CPSC recall 23-262 (Gree, 16 August 2023) covers 20 to 70 pint dehumidifiers sold from January 2005 through January 2014 under brands including Frigidaire and GE, and states they “can overheat, smoke, and catch fire”. Recall 21-174 (New Widetech, 4 August 2021) covers units made before 1 September 2017 under 20 brands including Honeywell. Neither reaches the 2025-26 models above, and CPSC’s category page names no Midea or hOmeLabs recall.
Hose frozen at the wall. Midea’s Cube manual says not to run the drain hose outdoors at or below 32 F. Drain indoors to a floor drain, a sink or a condensate line; the frozen pipes guide covers an exterior run.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the Amazon title say 120 pints when the page says 50?
hOmeLabs prints its 50 pint unit as 'MAX 120 Pint at 95 F, 90% RH', a hot, saturated-air figure, and its product page rates the 50 pints at 80 F and 60% RH, which is the pre-2019 test condition. The DOE test in Appendix X1 runs at 65 F and 60% RH, and the ENERGY STAR list carries no hOmeLabs 50 pint model under that test.
Does a basement dehumidifier need a pump?
Only if the water cannot fall to a drain on its own. Frigidaire's manual recommends a 1/2 in or larger hose for gravity drain, and Midea's EasyDry manual specifies a 5/16 in ID hose with a female thread. With a floor drain or a sink lower than the unit, a gravity-drain model such as the Midea MAD50C1AWS-A does the same job with one less part to fail.
What is the lowest temperature these units run at?
The makers print 41 F (5 C) as the floor wherever a range is printed (hOmeLabs prints none). The top of the range differs: Midea's Cube manual prints 95 F, the Midea EasyDry and GE manuals 90 F, and Frigidaire's 89 F. ENERGY STAR adds that frost can form on the coils below 65 F, so defrost matters in a cool basement.
Were any of these dehumidifiers recalled?
Not the 2025-26 models on this page. CPSC recall 23-262 (16 August 2023, Gree) covers 20 to 70 pint units sold under brands including Frigidaire and GE from January 2005 through January 2014, and recall 21-174 (4 August 2021, New Widetech) covers units made before 1 September 2017 under 20 brands including Honeywell. Both name a fire hazard and a full refund; check an older unit's date code against them.
What does the ENERGY STAR label require for a 50 pint unit?
ENERGY STAR's Version 6.0 criteria, effective 1 October 2025, set the integrated energy factor floor for a portable dehumidifier at 1.70 L/kWh at or under 25.00 pints/day, 2.01 L/kWh from 25.01 to 50 pints/day, and 3.30 L/kWh at 50 pints/day and above. Every certified unit on this page is listed just under 50 pints/day at an IEF of 2.01.
Fact sheet and how to cite this page
- Answer
- For a basement the pick is the Midea Cube MAD50PS1QWT-A: ENERGY STAR’s certified list prints 49.67 pints/day under the DOE 65 F test and an IEF of 2.01 L/kWh, and Midea’s manual prints 41 to 95 F operation and a 14 ft maximum pump height. The runner-up Frigidaire FHDP5033Y1 prints 49 and 51.5 dBA, 41 to 89 F and a 16.4 ft pump rise.
- Comparison basis
- ENERGY STAR certified capacity per Appendix X1 and IEF, the maker’s printed operating temperature range, pump lift height, gravity drain hose size, bucket size, listing, dBA where printed, and warranty term, read from each maker’s manual or specification sheet.
- Assumptions
- A below-grade basement that runs cooler than the living floors, so the maker’s lowest operating temperature and defrost matter more than the headline pints
- Portable, plug-in 115 V units. The whole-home class (AprilAire, Santa Fe) is named but not picked because no listing was both in stock and backed by a readable spec sheet on 30 September 2026
- The 50 pint class, since ENERGY STAR’s sizing table puts a very damp or wet basement at 40 plus or 50 plus pints/day
- Method
- OwnerSpec compared ENERGY STAR’s certified dehumidifier dataset, manufacturer manuals, specification sheets and product pages, and CPSC recall notices, all read on 2026-09-30, and confirmed each listing in stock on Amazon the same day. It did not run, meter or test any unit.
- Primary source
- ENERGY STAR Certified Dehumidifiers dataset (data.energystar.gov, resource mgiu-hu4z) (government or regulatory source)
- Facts verified
- Last updated
- Cite as
- OwnerSpec, "Best dehumidifier for a basement: the ENERGY STAR 65 F figures, pump lift and lowest operating temperature each maker prints", https://ownerspec.com/plumbing/reviews/best-dehumidifier-for-basement/, facts verified 30 September 2026.
Every figure above also appears, with its source, in the article. All sources · How OwnerSpec verifies numbers
Sources
- ENERGY STAR Certified Dehumidifiers dataset (data.energystar.gov, resource mgiu-hu4z) (government or regulatory source)
- ENERGY STAR, Dehumidifiers Key Efficiency Criteria (Version 6.0) (government or regulatory source)
- ENERGY STAR, Dehumidifiers product page with sizing table (government or regulatory source)
- ENERGY STAR, Dehumidifier Testing and Capacity (government or regulatory source)
- 10 CFR 430 Subpart B, Appendix X1 (Cornell LII) (university or extension service)
- EPA, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home (government or regulatory source)
- Midea, Cube MAD50S1QWT-A / MAD50PS1QWT-A user guide (PDF) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- Midea, Cube owner's manual MAD20/35/50/50P S1QWT (Lowe's-hosted PDF) (retailer listing or retailer-hosted document)
- Midea US, Cube 50 pint dehumidifier with pump MAD50PS1QWT product page (manufacturer or vendor document)
- Midea, MAD22/35/50 C1, P1, PS, WS user manual (PDF) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- Frigidaire, FHDP5033Y product specifications sheet, version 02/26 (PDF) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- Frigidaire, FHDP5033Y1 owner's guide (PDF) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- GE Appliances, ADHE25/35/50 owner's manual (PDF) (manufacturer or vendor document)
- GE Appliances, ADHE50PWF product page (manufacturer or vendor document)
- hOmeLabs, 50 pint Wi-Fi dehumidifier with pump product page (manufacturer or vendor document)
- Honeywell, TPFIT50PWK portable dehumidifier product page (manufacturer or vendor document)
- CPSC, Dehumidifier recalls (government or regulatory source)
- CPSC, recall 21-174, Two Million Dehumidifiers Manufactured by New Widetech (government or regulatory source)