Honeywell is known for manufacturing appliances that help facilitate better air quality in homes. Their impressive range of dehumidifiers offers plenty of products that will help you to rid your home of excess moisture no matter the size of your house.
Whilst their whole house units can integrate with entire central air condition systems they tend to be quite pricey. If you are on a budget, opting for a portable standalone dehumidifier is the way to go.
Among the many compact dehumidifiers that Honeywell has to offer, the HDE010E1 stands out for two reasons. 1) It is an affordable model 2) with a good range of features. This refrigerant dehumidifier comes with a digital control panel, continuous drain, automated humidistat, and more. It will easily serve a 3-bedroom house and is designed to move from one room to another with relative ease.
You can expect the Honeywell HDE010E1 to collect up to 10 litres of moisture from the air every day. But, the next model up, the HDE020E1, can extract double that amount. Other than that along with different run time programming, these two units have the same feature set. With a price tag to match, the more affordable Honeywell HDE010E1 is worth considering, especially if you want a dehumidifier that strikes a good balance between price and features.
So, what can you expect from the Honeywell HDE010E1? Is it worth buying? If you want to make an informed purchasing decision, read this comprehensive guide to learn the key features you should know before deciding on this appliance.
Honeywell HDE010E1 – Key Product Specifications
Prices & information last updated on 2024-07-27
Design
Although not the most lightweight dehumidifier on the market, the Honeywell HDE010E1 doesn’t take up much space. Dimension-wise, this unit measures 50 x 34 x 27cm (H x L x W). Therefore, it is compact enough to store when you don’t need it and won’t take up much room in your home when you do.
Just like the Ebac 2250e, this model weighs almost 12Kg, which is on the slightly on the heavier spectrum for dehumidifiers but expected as the HDE010E1 is a refrigerant model. The good news is you won’t necessarily have to carry it to move it from one place to another. It has integrated castor wheels at the base and a folding handle fixed to the top. Therefore, you can roll the dehumidifier on level surfaces rather than lift and carry it to move it around the home, with the exception of moving it up and down stairs.
The HDE010E1 features a folding carry handle and is much more secure to hold than the recessed grips found on some dehumidifiers
Like most portable dehumidifiers, the Honeywell HDE010E1 comes with a removable water collection tank. It’s also designed to drain water continuously via the back of the unit through a tube.
As far as appearance is concerned, the HDE010E1 lacks any fancy finishes. It comes only in a sleek black finish that might not fit into everyone’s decor, but aesthetics are always subjective and largely depend on personal taste.
That said, the two-digit LED display at the top gives the machine a nice modern look. It shows the moisture level of air passing through the machine and you can set your desired humidity at the push of a button.
Water Extraction Rate
Much like all compressor dehumidifiers, the Honeywell HDE010E1 sucks in air, passes it through coils, which then condense moisture and allow it drip into a tank. This model does not top the HDE series in terms of the amount of water it can extract in 24 hours.
Don’t be fooled though by its daily 10-Liter extraction capacity. This is the maximum daily water extraction that the unit can collect under industry testing conditions, which are totally incomparable to the UK weather. With the average UK home extracting 1.5-2.5 Litres of moisture using a dehumidifier, this means the HDE010E1 should do a decent job for a small to medium-sized homes.
Customizing your desired relative humidity conditions is very easy using the Honeywell HDE010E1 dehumidifier. The unit does not strip a room dry of all moisture. Dry air would irritate asthma and eczema sufferers or even leave an otherwise healthy person with a dry throat. Instead, this dehumidifier lets you set your desired humidity level.
You can choose relative humidity (RH) settings from as low as 40% to a high of 80% (we’d recommend a 55% RH being the most ideal). Other dehumidifiers come with high, medium and low presets, which don’t tell you much. But, being able to choose an actual humidity percentage with this model gives you precise control in determining the most comfortable humid conditions that work for you or your family.
Emptying the Honeywell HDE010E1
As mentioned earlier, there are two ways to empty the Honeywell HDE010E1 dehumidifier. You can manually remove the built-in water container to empty it. With this method, you have to remove the water container from the back of the unit. However, the tank’s awkward positioning at the rear side may be a bit less than ideal. This means you’ll need to turn the unit every time in order to remove the tank. That notwithstanding, emptying collected water is pretty easy. All you have to do is slide the tank out, clasp it by the base (where the handles are placed), and tilt it over a sink to pour collected water.
The water collection tank is not transparent, but that’s not an issue. There is no need to keep checking the water levels because the compressor will turn off automatically when the tank is full and a red light on the control panel will flash to indicate it needs emptying.
The other option you have when it comes to emptying the HDE010E1 dehumidifier is attaching a hose at the back of the unit. This will drain water externally, allowing you to keep the unit running as long as desired. As an added bonus, the team at Honeywell are generous enough to include a draining hose in the package.
The continuous drain method will require you to place the dehumidifier close to a sink. This way, you can channel collected water down the drain. On the plus side, the mains lead is about 1.8 meters long. If there is no socket close to a drain, you can opt to drain water through the hose to a larger container.
Noise Level
When it comes to noise output, this mode produces 45 decibels. You will hear it hum continuously when fully running. This is due to the compressor and whirring fan. The noise level is within the range of what most refrigerators produce. So, while not super quiet, it can easily go unnoticed by other home background noises.
Unlike other dehumidifiers, this model only has one fan speed. What’s more, the fan always spins even after reaching the desired humidity level. There are no major sound changes, except for when the compressor cuts in and out, making it easy to get used to the relatively constant low hum. But including at least one more lower speed setting would have been a nice addition.
Other Features
1) Simple Controls
The HDE010E1 control panel is simple compared to dehumidifiers made by Ebac and Meaco – but still provides remarkable functionality.
One of the areas that the Honeywell HDE010E1 shines is ease of operation. It features an easy to use, backlit, no-nonsense digital control panel that anyone can use.
There are only three buttons to interact with when operating the dehumidifier. The first one is obviously an on/off button. Next to it is the humidity level selector. Tapping on it counts down the from the highest humidity level to the lowest selection.
On the far left, there is a button marked with a clock icon. That is the timer button, which lets you choose a period the dehumidifier will be in operation. There are four timer presets to choose from, with the continuous mode being the default setting when you power up the machine. This means the dehumidifier will run until you manually switch it off or the tank fills.
Alternatively, you can program the unit to only run for 2, 4 or 8 hours. This simply involves taping on the timer button repeatedly until the LED backlight illuminates the desired run time selection on the control panel.
The timed settings are great when you want the dehumidifier to go off when it is not needed. This can be after a scheduled time designed for drying laundry or during the day when no one is going to be around to switch it off to save on running costs.
The only feature that would have made timer operation more convenient to set is a ‘mode saving’ feature. Unfortunately, this model does not save your preferred settings. That means each time you power up the unit, it operates in continuous mode unless you manually set the timer.
Indicator lights that let you know when the tank is full or as the compressor defrosts also make it easy to operate the Honeywell HDE010E1 dehumidifier. When defrosting, the compressor will stop running. Auto-defrost will kick in when the ambient temperature drops below 10 degrees Celsius. This helps prevent damage to the unit and increases its lifespan.
2) Energy Efficient
Given that the Honeywell HDE010E1 is a compressor/refrigerant dehumidifier, it will use, on average, half the energy of its desiccant counterparts, which need heat to operate. In fact, this model is rated A for energy efficiency. The fan will keep running as long as the unit is on so that it can continue to measure ambient humidity.
When the tank fills up or after reaching your desired humid conditions, the compressor stops operating and the dehumidifier goes into standby mode. In full operation (with the compressor running), this appliances draws 200Watts while standby mode drops power usage to about 28 Watts.
3) Washable Filter
This Honeywell HDE010E1 guide would be incomplete without mentioning the washable filter included in the design. The fact that you can wash and reuse the air filter that comes with this dehumidifier will help you to cut down on running costs. The filter slots in and out vertically at the back, a design that makes it easy to remove for cleaning and putting back in place.
4) Portable Design
Despite being on the heavier side of compact refrigerant dehumidifiers, Honeywell designed their HDE010E1 unit to be portable. As mentioned earlier, this appliance is on castor wheels for easy moving between rooms.
There is also a handle at the top as well that tucks away when not in use. It allows you to easily pull the dehumidifier as you wheel it on a level surface. The cord storage not only hides the power cable when storing your dehumidifier but also prevents it snagging as you move the unit.
While castor wheels and a handle are both good features that facilitate easier transportation of the Honeywell HDE010E1, they still do have a few flaws. For one, the wheels do not swivel. As a result, wheeling the dehumidifier around is not as flexible as it could be.
The other issue of concern is that the wheels are rather small. They only roll seamlessly on very smooth surfaces or short pile carpet. On occasion, they do dig into some rugs, forcing the user to lift the unit by the handle.
Customer Impressions/Reviews
So far, the Honeywell HDE010E1 has received encouraging and positive reviews from its past buyers. That speaks volumes about the quality you should expect from this appliance. Most users report that the unit is reasonably quiet, well made, easy-to-use and does the job.
Summary
Honeywell is a reputable brand that manufactures good quality home appliances, and their HDE01 dehumidifier is no exception.
Strong points for this model include a simple digital control panel, portable design, a good range of humidity levels and a reusable air filter.
It has an average-sized water tank and is not the most lightweight unit around. And, while it lacks extra features like an ioniser or laundry mode, buyers still get a reasonably priced dehumidifier with all the most important functions.
The bottom line is the Honeywell HDE010E1 is a great choice if you value brand reputation and want to buy an inexpensive, energy-efficient compressor dehumidifier.
- Removes excess moisture from your home efficiently and hygienically
- Reduces the survival time of air borne bacteria by maintaining between humidity levels between 40-60%
- 2 drainage possibilities: in the water tank or continuous through water hose (included)
Prices & information last updated on 2024-07-27
