Dehumidifiers / AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier vs hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N)
AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier
$1441.00
VShOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N)
$242.10
AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier vs hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N)
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 1.5 points
Quick Verdict
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier takes this by a clear 1.5 points. Best warranty in the category, an 80°F pint rating, and an unheld ENERGY STAR badge. The hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) 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 hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) are both closely matched dehumidifier models, and the hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) is $1,198.90 cheaper than the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier ($242.10 vs $1,441). On Build & Warranty, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier leads (9.5 vs 4.0/10) — 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 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. On Drainage & Tank Practicality, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier leads (7.0 vs 4.5/10) — 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. Overall, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier scores 6.7/10 across our 8 scoring categories versus 5.2/10 for the hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N). 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 | hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1441.00 | $242.10 |
| Release Year | 2019 | 2017 |
| 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 — and the listings say so explicitly. Walmart's title for this machine reads "50 Pint (Previously 70 Pint)". The Amazon listing adds a second, larger number: "50 Pint (MAX 120 Pint at 95°F, 90% RH)". Three scales for one machine: 70 (pre-2019 DOE), 50 (2019 DOE), 120 (saturation) |
| 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 | Not currently verifiable. hOmeLabs' only entries in the ENERGY STAR Certified Dehumidifiers database as of August 2026 are the HME0088 (24.48 pints/day) and HME0089 (32.46 pints/day). The 50-pint model is not in the certified list, despite listings that describe it as "Energy Star Dehumidifier" |
| 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), 7.8 amps rated current, 165-188 CFM across three fan speeds |
| 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 | Auto-defrost present; hOmeLabs publishes no minimum operating temperature. The listing does warn the unit "emits heat during use" and is "not suitable for use with evaporative coolers" |
| 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 | The same ASIN has been sold as 4,500 sq ft (Walmart's listing, and a cached third-party mirror of the Amazon title) and as 7,000 sq ft (hOmeLabs' own current page and Home Depot's HME031004N pump variant). The hardware did not change by 2,500 sq ft |
| Tank Capacity & Refill Interval | None — there is no water tray. This is a plumbed appliance | 1.6 gallons (12.8 pints). At the rated 50 pints/day that is four emptyings a day. This machine is the standard illustration of why tank capacity and pints-per-day are the two numbers you must read together |
| 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 SKU; hOmeLabs sells a pump variant (HME031004N, Best Buy calls it HME1004). Gravity drainage needs the unit raised above the drain |
| 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 | Claimed in the product titles, but the 50-pint hOmeLabs does not appear in the current ENERGY STAR Certified Dehumidifiers database — only the 24- and 32-pint models do. Treat the badge on this listing as unverified |
| 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 | Not published, and no ENERGY STAR annual-energy figure exists for this model. At the rated 7.8 amps and the duty cycle typical of the class, budget for the same $85-95/yr as its certified 50-pint rivals |
| Noise | 53 dBA ducted (AprilAire) | No dB figure published by hOmeLabs. The listing claims "a quiet fan for minimal noise disruption" |
| 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 | Not published on the hOmeLabs product page used for this entry. hOmeLabs' standard consumer warranty is 12 months with a 2-year extension available on some SKUs; confirm at purchase. No sealed-system term is published |
| Recall History | No CPSC recall found for AprilAire dehumidifiers | No CPSC recall found for hOmeLabs dehumidifiers |
| Warranty | 60 months | 12 months |
| Colors | White | White |
Category Scores
Capacity-Claim Honesty
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier leads clearly here, 6.0 against 5.0 — a 1.0-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 hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) 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 hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) 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 hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) 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 4.5 — a 2.5-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 hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Running Cost
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier and hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) are level here, at 4.5/10 each. 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 is not what separates these two — look to the categories where the scores diverge.
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 hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Build & Warranty
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier leads clearly here, 9.5 against 4.0 — a 5.5-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 hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Value for Money
The hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) leads clearly here, 6.5 against 5.0 — a 1.5-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).
- • Capacity-Claim Honesty matters most to you — the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier scores 6.0/10 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.).
- • Your main use case is crawl-space.
Choose the hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) if…
- • Value for Money matters most to you — the hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) scores 6.5/10 here (purchase price plus multi-year electricity against verified pints removed and how long the warranty protects the compressor).
- • You want to spend less — it's $1,198.90 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
hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N)
Pros
- +Cheapest genuine 50-pint here at $242.10, and the most widely owned platform in US basements
- +Its listing is one of the few that spells the scale change out loud — "50 Pint (Previously 70 Pint)"
- +Auto-restart and a 24-hour timer make it a set-and-forget basement machine
- +Parts, filters and support are easy to find precisely because so many were sold
Cons
- −Listings advertise ENERGY STAR, but the 50-pint hOmeLabs is not in the current ENERGY STAR certified database — only the 24- and 32-pint models are
- −The "MAX 120 Pint at 95°F, 90% RH" figure in the title is a saturation number no home will ever see
- −Coverage claim for the same ASIN has drifted from 4,500 to 7,000 sq ft with no hardware change
- −1.6 gallon tank against 50 pints/day: four emptyings a day unless you can gravity-drain it
- −No published dB, no published minimum operating temperature, no published warranty and no published energy consumption
Shop by Need
FAQs
Is the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier or hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) 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 hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N)?+
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier scores higher on Build & Warranty (9.5/10 vs 4.0/10) — 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 Cold-Room Performance, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier or the hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N)?+
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 hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N)?+
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier scores higher on Drainage & Tank Practicality (7.0/10 vs 4.5/10) — 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.
Which is better for Value for Money, the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier or the hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N)?+
The hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) scores higher on Value for Money (6.5/10 vs 5.0/10) — purchase price plus multi-year electricity against verified pints removed and how long the warranty protects the compressor.
Is the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier worth the price difference over the hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N)?+
The hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) is the cheaper option at $242.10 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 hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) is the better fit for large-room.
What's the warranty on the AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier vs the hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N)?+
The AprilAire E070 70-Pint Crawl Space / Whole-House Dehumidifier ships with a 60-month warranty; the hOmeLabs 50-Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier (HME020031N) 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
Waykar PD160B 34-Pint Dehumidifier (2,000 sq ft) — $169.99
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.