Dehumidifiers / AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier vs Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi
AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier
$1441.00
VSFrigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi
$309.00
AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier vs Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi
AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier
Best warranty in the category, an 80°F pint rating, and an unheld ENERGY STAR badge.
Wins overall by 0.8 points
Quick Verdict
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier takes this by a clear 0.8 points. Best warranty in the category, an 80°F pint rating, and an unheld ENERGY STAR badge. The Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi only makes sense if it wins on a category you care about more than the total.
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier and Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi are both closely matched dehumidifier models, and the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi is $1,132 cheaper than the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier ($309 vs $1,441). On Build & Warranty, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier leads (9.5 vs 5.5/10) — coil and cabinet construction, filter grade, and above all the warranty on the sealed system — the compressor is the part that fails and the part most portables cover for only twelve months. On Capacity-Claim Honesty, the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi leads (8.5 vs 6.0/10) — this category's trap dimension. Since the DOE changed the test condition from 80°F/60% RH to 65°F/60% RH in 2019, the same machine that was a '70 pint' is now a '50 pint' — and manufacturers freely mix the two scales, plus a third 'saturation' figure taken at 95°F/90% RH. A high score means the pint number on the box matches the DOE Appendix X1 figure the manufacturer filed with ENERGY STAR. A low score means the marketing number is measured somewhere the buyer's house never is.. On Cold-Room Performance, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier leads (6.5 vs 4.0/10) — what happens in a 50-55°F basement, garage or crawlspace. Compressor coils frost below roughly 65°F and auto-defrost buys back the coil at the cost of runtime; desiccant rotors and hot-gas-defrost units do not care. The single most common mis-buy in the category. Overall, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier scores 6.7/10 across our 8 scoring categories versus 5.9/10 for the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi. Below, we break down the full spec sheet, category-by-category scores, and exactly who should buy which one.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Spec | AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier | Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1441.00 | $309.00 |
| Release Year | 2019 | 2024 |
| Rated Capacity (and Which Standard) | 70 pints/day at 80°F/60% RH, and 53 pints/day at 73°F/60% RH — AprilAire publishes both. The headline 70 is on the AHAM/pre-2019 condition, so this is NOT comparable to a modern 50-pint portable's DOE rating, and it is not 40% more machine than one either | 50 pints/day on the 2019 DOE scale. Retailers say the quiet part out loud: Appliance Guys lists the Frigidaire 50-pint as "50 Pint Dehumidifier (Old 70 Pint)". Any review or listing calling a current Frigidaire a 70-pint is using the pre-2019 scale |
| ENERGY STAR / DOE Verified Capacity ( pints/day) | None — the E070 does not appear in the ENERGY STAR Certified Dehumidifiers database. Only the E080, E100 and E130 are certified. For reference, ENERGY STAR rates the E080 at 65.00 pints/day under Appendix X1 against AprilAire's own 80-pint headline, and whole-home units are tested at 73°F/60% RH rather than the 65°F/60% RH used for portables — a third rating point in the same category | 49.95 pints/day per Appendix X1 (FHDD5033Y1 sibling SKU), IEF 2.01 L/kWh, 520 kWh/yr — Frigidaire's own ENERGY STAR filing. The R-32 FHDD5034 variant tests at 49.71 pints/day and 521 kWh/yr |
| Technology & Refrigerant | Compressor (refrigerant), R32, 5.4 amps at 120V, 200 CFM at 0.0 in external static pressure, energy factor 2.1 L/kWh at 80°F/60% RH and 1.8 L/kWh at 73°F/60% RH | Compressor (refrigerant), R-32, 545 watts, 8.5 amps at 115V |
| Low-Temperature Operation & Defrost | 50°F to 104°F for dehumidification (40°F to 140°F in ventilation-only mode). That 50°F floor is better than a 41°F-rated portable in practice but worse than the AlorAir's 33.8°F — for a genuinely cold crawlspace the AlorAir or a desiccant is the safer choice | Down to 41°F with automatic defrost (Frigidaire lists 41-89°F on the FHDD generation). Below roughly 65°F output falls and defrost time rises; in a 50-55°F basement a desiccant unit will out-dry it despite the smaller pint number |
| Claimed Coverage | Sources conflict by a factor of two: AprilAire's own shop page says "whole houses up to 2,200 sq. ft.", the Amazon listing says "up to 2,800 sq. ft", and amgair.com's spec table for the same model says 4,400 sq. ft | Frigidaire positions the FHDD5033W1 for medium/large rooms and basements without a square-footage number; the discontinued FFAD5033W1 it replaces was sold as a 1,200-1,500 sq ft unit while rivals with identical DOE ratings claim 4,500-7,000 sq ft. Coverage claims in this category are not comparable between brands |
| Tank Capacity & Refill Interval | None — there is no water tray. This is a plumbed appliance | 1.9 gallons (15.2 pints). At the rated 49.95 pints/day that is three or more emptyings a day without a hose — the single most common complaint about every 50-pint unit here |
| Continuous Drainage (Hose, Gravity, Pump Lift) | Gravity drain only, with a barbed fitting and 10 ft of tubing included. There is no pump, so the unit must be sited above a drain or paired with a separate condensate pump. That is the practical difference between this and the pump-equipped AlorAir | Continuous gravity drain port; no pump on this model. Frigidaire's spec sheet does not list a hose in the box. Frigidaire does sell a pump variant (FHDP5033Y1, 49.95 pints/day, 520 kWh/yr) if you need lift |
| ENERGY STAR Status | NOT certified. amgair.com markets this model as "Most Efficient | Energy Star Rated"; the E070 is absent from both the ENERGY STAR Certified Dehumidifiers list and the ENERGY STAR Most Efficient list. The E080, E100 and E130 above it are certified and are Most Efficient | Yes. 520 kWh/yr, IEF 2.01 L/kWh. Not on the ENERGY STAR Most Efficient list |
| Annual Running Cost | Not published as an annual figure, because there is no ENERGY STAR entry. At 5.4 A / 120V (about 648W) and crawlspace duty cycles, budget for something in the region of the E080's certified 632 kWh/yr — roughly $107/yr at $0.17/kWh | About $88/yr (520 kWh x $0.17/kWh). On a unit that runs most of the year this is the dominant ownership cost — roughly a third of the purchase price every year |
| Noise | 53 dBA ducted (AprilAire) | 51.5 dB (retailer spec table). Frigidaire does not publish a dB figure on its own product page |
| Warranty (incl. Sealed System) | 5 years on parts and the sealed system, per AprilAire and its dealers. This is the single strongest warranty position in the comparison alongside the AlorAir, and it is the reason the price is what it is | 1 year limited, parts and labour. No separate sealed-system term |
| Recall History | No CPSC recall found for AprilAire dehumidifiers | No recall covers the FHDD generation. Frigidaire-branded dehumidifiers appeared in the Gree recalls of 2013 and 2016 (2005-2013 production, different manufacturer) |
| Warranty | 60 months | 12 months |
| Colors | White | White |
Category Scores
Capacity-Claim Honesty
The Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi leads clearly here, 8.5 against 6.0 — a 2.5-point margin on this category's trap dimension. Since the DOE changed the test condition from 80°F/60% RH to 65°F/60% RH in 2019, the same machine that was a '70 pint' is now a '50 pint' — and manufacturers freely mix the two scales, plus a third 'saturation' figure taken at 95°F/90% RH. A high score means the pint number on the box matches the DOE Appendix X1 figure the manufacturer filed with ENERGY STAR. A low score means the marketing number is measured somewhere the buyer's house never is.. If that is what you are buying for, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier does not close the gap elsewhere.
Moisture Removal
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier leads clearly here, 8.5 against 7.5 — a 1.0-point margin on actual water pulled out of the air per day at a condition a home experiences, judged against the DOE-verified figure rather than the coverage claim on the box. If that is what you are buying for, the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi does not close the gap elsewhere.
Cold-Room Performance
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier leads clearly here, 6.5 against 4.0 — a 2.5-point margin on what happens in a 50-55°F basement, garage or crawlspace. Compressor coils frost below roughly 65°F and auto-defrost buys back the coil at the cost of runtime; desiccant rotors and hot-gas-defrost units do not care. The single most common mis-buy in the category. If that is what you are buying for, the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi does not close the gap elsewhere.
Drainage & Tank Practicality
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier leads clearly here, 7.0 against 5.5 — a 1.5-point margin on tank volume measured against daily output, whether a hose is in the box, whether gravity drainage needs the unit propped up, and whether there is a real pump and how high it lifts. If that is what you are buying for, the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi does not close the gap elsewhere.
Running Cost
The Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi leads clearly here, 5.0 against 4.5 — a 0.5-point margin on the kWh/yr on the ENERGY STAR certification and what it costs at the meter. On a machine that runs most of the year this dominates total ownership cost — often a third of the purchase price annually. If that is what you are buying for, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier does not close the gap elsewhere.
Quietness
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier leads clearly here, 6.5 against 5.5 — a 1.0-point margin on measured dB where published, weighted by where the machine actually lives — a 58 dBA crawlspace unit under a floor is fine, a 54 dB cube next to a desk is not. If that is what you are buying for, the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi does not close the gap elsewhere.
Build & Warranty
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier leads clearly here, 9.5 against 5.5 — a 4.0-point margin on coil and cabinet construction, filter grade, and above all the warranty on the sealed system — the compressor is the part that fails and the part most portables cover for only twelve months. If that is what you are buying for, the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi does not close the gap elsewhere.
Value for Money
The Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi leads clearly here, 6.0 against 5.0 — a 1.0-point margin on purchase price plus multi-year electricity against verified pints removed and how long the warranty protects the compressor. If that is what you are buying for, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier does not close the gap elsewhere.
Best For
Choose the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier if…
- • Build & Warranty matters most to you — the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier scores 9.5/10 here (coil and cabinet construction, filter grade, and above all the warranty on the sealed system — the compressor is the part that fails and the part most portables cover for only twelve months).
- • Cold-Room Performance matters most to you — the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier scores 6.5/10 here (what happens in a 50-55°F basement, garage or crawlspace. Compressor coils frost below roughly 65°F and auto-defrost buys back the coil at the cost of runtime; desiccant rotors and hot-gas-defrost units do not care. The single most common mis-buy in the category).
- • Drainage & Tank Practicality matters most to you — the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier scores 7.0/10 here (tank volume measured against daily output, whether a hose is in the box, whether gravity drainage needs the unit propped up, and whether there is a real pump and how high it lifts).
- • Moisture Removal matters most to you — the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier scores 8.5/10 here (actual water pulled out of the air per day at a condition a home experiences, judged against the DOE-verified figure rather than the coverage claim on the box).
- • Your main use case is crawl-space.
Choose the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi if…
- • Capacity-Claim Honesty matters most to you — the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi scores 8.5/10 here (this category's trap dimension. Since the DOE changed the test condition from 80°F/60% RH to 65°F/60% RH in 2019, the same machine that was a '70 pint' is now a '50 pint' — and manufacturers freely mix the two scales, plus a third 'saturation' figure taken at 95°F/90% RH. A high score means the pint number on the box matches the DOE Appendix X1 figure the manufacturer filed with ENERGY STAR. A low score means the marketing number is measured somewhere the buyer's house never is.).
- • You want to spend less — it's $1,132 cheaper.
- • Your main use case is large-room.
Pros & Cons
AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier
Pros
- +5-year parts and sealed-system warranty on a US-built unit, against 1 year from every portable here
- +Publishes capacity at two conditions (70 ppd at 80°F, 53 ppd at 73°F) instead of only the flattering one
- +MERV 8 washable filter means it is doing air cleaning as well as drying, unlike the mesh screens on the portables
- +No tray to empty and corrosion-resistant coils designed for years of crawlspace duty
Cons
- −amgair.com sells it as "Most Efficient | Energy Star Rated" — the E070 is in neither ENERGY STAR list; the E080 above it is
- −"70 pint" is an 80°F/60% RH figure. Cross-shopped against a 50-pint portable it looks like 40% more machine; measured at the same conditions it is not
- −Coverage is published as 2,200 (AprilAire), 2,800 (Amazon) and 4,400 (dealer) sq ft for the same unit
- −Gravity drain only — no pump, so a crawlspace without a low drain needs a condensate pump on top of the $1,441
- −50°F dehumidification floor is not low enough for the coldest crawlspaces, where the AlorAir's 33.8°F or a desiccant wins
Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi
Pros
- +Verified 49.95 pints/day against a 50-pint claim — the number on the box is the number on the test
- +1.9 gallon bucket is the biggest of the conventional-shape units here, so it needs emptying less often than the GE's 10-pint tray
- +R-32 at 545W is efficient for the class, and Wi-Fi genuinely helps on a basement machine you never look at
- +A pump version of the same platform (FHDP5033Y1) exists with the identical DOE rating if you need lift
Cons
- −$88/yr to run — over three years the electricity costs most of what the machine did
- −No pump and no hose in the box; gravity drainage needs the unit raised above the drain
- −Even 1.9 gallons is under half a day at rated output if you cannot use a hose
- −Frigidaire publishes no coverage figure and no dB figure on its own page for this model
- −1 year parts and labour with no sealed-system extension, against 5 years from Aprilaire and 6 from AlorAir
Shop by Need
FAQs
Is the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier or Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi better overall?+
Based on our 8-category scoring, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier comes out ahead overall. See the full breakdown in the scores section above — the right pick still depends on which categories matter most for your use case.
Which is better for Build & Warranty, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier or the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi?+
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier scores higher on Build & Warranty (9.5/10 vs 5.5/10) — coil and cabinet construction, filter grade, and above all the warranty on the sealed system — the compressor is the part that fails and the part most portables cover for only twelve months.
Which is better for Capacity-Claim Honesty, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier or the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi?+
The Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi scores higher on Capacity-Claim Honesty (8.5/10 vs 6.0/10) — this category's trap dimension. Since the DOE changed the test condition from 80°F/60% RH to 65°F/60% RH in 2019, the same machine that was a '70 pint' is now a '50 pint' — and manufacturers freely mix the two scales, plus a third 'saturation' figure taken at 95°F/90% RH. A high score means the pint number on the box matches the DOE Appendix X1 figure the manufacturer filed with ENERGY STAR. A low score means the marketing number is measured somewhere the buyer's house never is..
Which is better for Cold-Room Performance, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier or the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi?+
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier scores higher on Cold-Room Performance (6.5/10 vs 4.0/10) — what happens in a 50-55°F basement, garage or crawlspace. Compressor coils frost below roughly 65°F and auto-defrost buys back the coil at the cost of runtime; desiccant rotors and hot-gas-defrost units do not care. The single most common mis-buy in the category.
Which is better for Drainage & Tank Practicality, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier or the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi?+
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier scores higher on Drainage & Tank Practicality (7.0/10 vs 5.5/10) — tank volume measured against daily output, whether a hose is in the box, whether gravity drainage needs the unit propped up, and whether there is a real pump and how high it lifts.
Is the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier worth the price difference over the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi?+
The Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi is the cheaper option at $309 versus $1,441. Whether the pricier model is "worth it" depends on how much you value its lead in Build & Warranty.
Which is better suited to my use case?+
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier is the better fit if you mainly care about crawl-space. The Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi is the better fit for large-room.
What's the warranty on the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier vs the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi?+
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier ships with a 60-month warranty; the Frigidaire FHDD5033W1 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi ships with a 12-month warranty. Always confirm current terms on the manufacturer's site before buying.
Should I wait for the next model instead of buying either of these?+
If either model is more than two years old, a successor may be close — check the "Latest Model" link on each product page. Otherwise, both are current, well-supported options and there's no strong reason to wait.
Cheaper Option
Midea Cube 50-Pint Smart Dehumidifier with Built-in Pump (MAD50PS1QWT-A) — $299.99
Premium Option
AprilAire E080 80-Pint Whole-House Dehumidifier — $1507.00
Specifications and prices for both products last verified . Scores are calculated from published specifications — see how we compare products.