AusClimate Cool Seasons

This is my second of this model, so now I have 1 at each end of my home, they work so efficiently, the amount of water it pulls out of the air, furnishings, clothing is amazing. No more mouldy leather shoes just love it Show details

THE BEST EVER!!! We’ve had our dehumidifier for about 4 years, works amazingly well never misses a beat, perfect!! Highly recommend this products++ Show details

We had a real problem with our laundry and the use of a hot air dryer. We cannot vent the hot air outside as the entire wall is a glass sliding door, nor through the slab floor nor into the roof cavity (lower floor) and this caused the entire room to be full of dripping water after we had the dryer turned on for full cycles. Walls wet, roof wet,… Read more

glass door dripping and fogged up. Just a lousy situation. Outside is really cold and clothes have no chance of drying off (think moist, cold, foggy, icy Yarra Ranges temperatures). Opening the Glass sliding door stopped the problem but let in the freezing air.

Had to try something and a bit of research yielded Dessicant Dehumidifers. Note "Dessicant", this is crucial to this situation as other dehumidifier types will not do this. After finding the right kind of dehumidifer for this situation (wasn't easy to do as the common - yet kind of related thing - that this machine does is dry wet clothes on a Laundry mode), so I went trawling brands. Not everyone has one, so the list was narrow. Looked at good reviews and ended up with this AusClimate one.

So far this machine has been incredible. Turn it on when you do the washing, leave it until the hot tumble dry finishes (wants a little time in there doing it's thing before you go straight to the dryer) and then there's absolutely nothing on the walls, roof or doors. All that wetness was sucked from the air and collected in the drawer at the bottom of the unit. This has been perfect for us. You can get smaller ones, but I opted on bigger to ensure the job gets done. It's reminiscent of a decent fan for noise and that's because in our case we have it on High rather than Auto or low just to make sure we got the results. Close the door and hear nothing. We have run it through 4-5 cycles and same results.

Extremely happy with this, have found no fault. Perhaps for some the size of this may be a problem, but we can stow it out of the way.

AusClimate Dehumidifier Review – Stylish & Useful This is one of those devices that make your life healthier. It even helps with the longevity of some of your most important possessions. But first, the unit presents well. Slim and stylish; white with black side panels and has well-designed side grips that make it easy for me to move the unit… Read more

around. The buttons are sensible and well laid out.

I tried the free app on Google and was impressed with the simplicity and thoroughness of the app, giving access to all settings, allowing checking of current readings and allowing control whether I was out and about or just in a different room.

The water tank has a semi-opaque viewing window to see how much water has been collected. Note it doesn’t show anything if you haven’t yet collected 1 litre of water. Emptying the water tank at the end of the day is straightforward and the catch design is good.

I tested the dehumidifier by running it in a bedroom with a wardrobe full of clothes. The first day, starting at 67% humidity, after 6 hours the unit pulled about 1 litre of moisture from the air. The second day was down to 50% humidity, and 6 hours of running extracted less than half a litre.

So the first day, it’s removed half a litre of moisture from the clothing, belongings and curtains in the room, helping belongings to last longer, making it difficult for mold, moths and silverfish to set up camp. I’ve also experimented with placing the unit near the central heating system to help remove moisture circulating through the heater.

So this all makes it easier on breathing even if we aren’t always aware of it, by dropping from 67% humidity to under 50% humidity in each room. I haven’t tested the ioniser function yet as it’s currently deep Winter, but looking forward to trying it in Spring.

Now, while the box mentions a clothes drying mode, there’s no specific button or setting labelled for this on the unit itself. In my testing, lightweight quick-dry clothing responds well to the dry air flow. Heavier items like tracksuit pants may still be a bit damp by the end of the day. In autumn, it’s probably best to stick with fast-drying clothes when relying on the dehumidifier. ________________________________________ Final Thoughts: We’re very happy with the dehumidifier. It’s effective, and easy to use — and addresses an important purpose in life. Highly recommended.

Note: I was invited to test (and keep this unit) on condition I submit a review, be it good or bad.

There is not much to say in terms of this product except that it works. Don’t ask me to how it works but the results are speaking for themselves. I can see and feel the difference it makes in our house. We do not have wall insulation, no double glazed windows and a very old thin layer of ceiling blown insulation. The house was built late 70’and… Read more

it is sound and all but when the temperature drops or the humidity outside rises, so is the level of discomfort for us.

We have a perfect example, each time we use the tumble dryer, vapour condensation appears on the windows, on bad days even on some of the walls. It has made the paint having “tears” overtime. We receive the Ausclimate ACD200 10L a few weeks ago to try and give a detail review of the machine. To be honest I wasn’t expecting much, maybe a reduction of the in the humidity in the house. I was wrong, this little unit has a powerful output, and I wasn’t expecting to perform this well. When we put the dryer on now, you can see the humidity level rising and the machine starts to do its magic. The level stay constant, we do not have condensation on the windows anymore. Mind you this is design for a room not doing the full house, but we have a split level and the humidity always rises there, so it made perfect sense to have it in this room. I also happen to have a battery of 3d printers in my office next to that room, and if you don’t know, the filament is sensitive to humidity. I have to put them back in a special box with desiccant gel to keep them performing well. Usually if I forget to do that it would take me a couple of hours drying the filament again either in my oven or a few days in silica gel. I left one spool out to see if it would get contaminated with the ambient humidity. To my surprise my spool was able to perform as usual, no issues on my print. A very positive outcome because I can now leave the spools on until my next print. The other added benefits, I do not have my stuffy nose anymore, it did not disappear in an instant but rather over a week of using it. I know it has an allergen removal function too… I have 2 cats and a dog if that helps. I won’t go into too much details on this as there may have been other factor at play.

This is if you are still reading, there is a wifi function, that was easy to set up and link to my automation over google home. I can have full control and view of the unit performance on my phone or tablet. It is useful but not a deal breaker, this units works right out of the box.

I haven’t anything bad to say, except my usual complain with the length of the power cord, it is always too short to my liking. I am considering buying an additional unit for my workshop as I store a lot of wood and make some furniture on my time off, this will definitely help reduce the fluctuation of the humidity in my shop.

Last little details, everything is easily accessible, the water tank pulls out fine, there is a handle to carry it around, I use the water for my plants or in the robot mop (why waste water), the filter comes out and is washable, something that would suggest every month at least. This unit was sent to me to test and give an honest review as part of the ambassador program.

The AusClimate Cool Seasons10L dehumidifier is an innovative app controlled desiccant dehumidifier with a built in air purifier option. I have been trialling the dehumidifier for the past few weeks with fantastic results in a spare bedroom. I'd love to try it in other rooms but there's a smell that I think is from the polystyrene packaging that… Read more

needs to dissipate before I operate the unit in areas we actively use in our home.

I'm an outdoor photographer and in winter particularly, it's so important to ensure my cameras and lenses are kept dry to prevent fungus and condensation inside my equipment. Previously I had been securing my equipment in a large plastic tub with a desiccant packet but I was limited in how much could fit and this was messy and expensive to keep replacing. I lay my camera bodies, lenses and travel bag out on the spare bed and set the dehumidifier to a low fan speed before shutting the door and leaving for a few hours. I was amazed at how much water was in the dehumidifier reservoir after just a few hours considering this isn't a damp room. I feel much more confident storing my equipment in this room now, running the dehumidifier periodically to keep moisture levels in check.

I loved watching the humidity rise and fall on the app when I put damp laundry in the room to start drying on a wet day when the clothes hoist and drying rack were full of other washing. Wet jeans were almost dry by the time they were ready to hang in front of the fire, still with the fan speed just set to low.

The app was so easy to install and use. Despite having a background in IT, I know how hard these things can be to pair for some people, this was easy and intuitive. I would love to get a reading of water reservoir levels in the app to satisfy my inner nerd and to easily see when I need to empty it.

AUSCLIMATE ACD200 10L DESSICANT DEHUMIDIFIER REVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: 1. I use capitals for headings and emphasis, not yelling, ok? I do this because I don’t have other formatting options. 2. This was provided to me for free as part of Product… Read more

Review’s Ambassador program. The Ambassador program merely allows enthusiastic reviewers to test a wider-range of products. It does not sway us one way or the other.

3. Please look at the included images first. (A picture’s worth a thousand words, after all).

4. I write in-depth reviews because I want to make you as informed as possible. Use the headings to skip to relevant sections, and feel free to grab a tasty snack/beverage before starting.

Good to go? Let’s start

IN CASE YOU’RE WONDERING: “DO I NEED A DEHUMIDIFIER?”

Excessive moisture in air can be a problem for a number of reasons. It can lead to mould growth in wet areas, musty smells in living spaces, and aggravate all manner of allergy/respiratory irritations. Water is essential to microbial life as well, after all, and not all of microbial life is friendly to humans and their pets. :-)

Of course, there’s the usual situations like drying clothes inside over winter (for those without a clothes dryer), or the massive humidity build up caused by using the wrong type of clothes dryer (a vented type) where ventilation isn’t up to the task (renters in apartments will know this all too well). For a hot-blooded bloke though, reducing the humidity during summer can render a MASSIVE boon to those without air conditioning, or those limited to a fan. It won’t cool the air, but it’ll make the fan much more effective. (That said, I haven’t had this dehumidifier long enough to test its summer applications).

OUR SITUATION & INITIAL OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF THE ACD200 DEHUMIDIFIER:

I was sent an Ausclimate ACD200, 10L/day desiccant dehumidifier to review. This is their smallest dehumidifier model (some extract as much as 35L/day)… but it certainly makes a difference. I feel that it’s being tested to the limits as it’s surprisingly wet at the moment, and the main area we’re testing it in comes in at 228 cubic metres.. (52% over the recommended maximum volume of 150 cubic meres). I’ve tried to split the zone up a bit by cordoning off areas that would otherwise be open, and “pace our usage” a bit. Furthermore, with indoor temperatures getting as low as 7C (which considering the outdoor temperature is -6.7C after three wet/windy days and nights… huge amounts of cooking being done, large tracts of washing on indoor drying racks, and not to mention the usual hot showers, sweaty visiting teenagers, and a hail storm destroying our skylight… moisture is definitely an issue.

Now, a bigger unit would probably have worked faster and easier… but this little unit is an absolute trooper. Also, in our particular circumstance, it would probably be better to use TWO smaller units, strategically placed than one big unit and vainly hoping that it’ll cover the entire area. This is a key consideration because bigger isn’t ALWAYS better. However, if we’re more “modest” with our incidental humidifying ways (shorter showers, only ONE load of washing at a time, no visitors and a repaired skylight) this unit made an even more tangible difference, even when still overwhelmed. It may not have gotten to the designated humidity, but it reduced the humidity by sometimes as much as 43%. Anyone who hates humidity will tell you, that that is often the difference between peeling yourself off the couch in a sweaty mess and perfectly comfortable conditions.

That said, if the humidity was generally higher than it is in Canberra winter (say the tropics, or near the ocean) this unit may not have made so much difference. That said, for Canberra, this has worked SURPRISINGLY well for the month or so I’ve used it.

EXECUTIVE AUSCLIMATE ACD200 (10L) DEHUMIDIFIER REVIEW SUMMARY/(TL:DR)

• It really does what it says, and works well. I’ve compared the dehumidifier’s humidity readings to other hygrometers (humidity meters) and while the precise readings do differ by up to 7% from the other devices (all else being equal). That said, each percentage reduction shown on the dehumidifier display IS reflected across all measuring devices. Honestly, I’m not sure which device is accurate though, as I have different models. (Sorry). However, differences of 2-4% from one side of the room to the next is entirely possible… particularly if we’re cooking, or running a shower.. or there’s a breeze blowing through on a sunny afternoon.

• Significantly speeds up clothes drying, even in colder environments. Mould build up in wet areas is basically eliminated, windows are less “fogged up”, the place seems “fresher” overall, along with all the usual things you’d expect of less humidity being found in the air.

• The “Negative ion generator” (anion generator on the app) is supposed to help with health by reducing airborne particles. Scientific literature states that, while it does work with little particles like smoke (say an overcooked bread loaf), it doesn’t do much for larger particles of dust, and larger pollen spores. It does however produce a small amount of ozone which can slow/stop the reproduction of some viruses, but ozone itself is also a lung irritant and can cause other issues. I will say that it helped with my overcooked loaf smoke, and reduced the smells a bit… but not as much as my Dyson air purifier… or just opening some windows. I have NOT noticed any reduction in airborne dust. Routine vacuuming and dusting, and airing the place out is likely to be FAR more effective.

• This suits mid-to-large-ish rooms (50m squared worth of floor space, or 125m cubed air volume). For smaller rooms, it’d still work but I’d run it at a lower setting for more silent operation. It would absolutely handle any sanely-sized bedroom or sleeping area.

• The unit drains into a drawer at the bottom by default. It’s 2L large and needs routine emptying… don’t leave it partially filled, you’ll get algae this way. If the tank fills, it will shut off automatically.

• The control interface on the device is fairly simple but somewhat lacking in intuitive clarity. (The counting down from 10 to zero when you “power off”, confused us initially, that and the fact it runs for about 10 mins afterwards during “cool down” is unexpected.

• Has an app for both Apple and Android devices, and works with Alexa smart home controllers, if that’s important. The app/vocal interface is quite simple to use. I like the scheduling, various temp/humidity auto adjustment feature, and notification when the tank is full.

• I probably wouldn’t recommend this product if it’s in danger of being knocked over by children or pets. Water+electricity aren’t the best mix for safety.

• It draws about 60W of power during “fan only” modes (initialisation and shut down), but then draws about 660-680W in full operation).

• The speed of (actual dehumidification) depends on many factors (general humidity levels, size of the room, how much of a percentage reduction have you set, whether there’s any sources of additional moisture going on… like a kettle, or drying laundry for instance).

• Don’t assume that you don't have a drainage hose. The manual that says the continuous draining hose is an optional accessory. (It's use IS optional, but it is provided). We found it INSIDE the drainage drawer, (Take the drainage drawer’s entire lid off… don’t just drain it by lifting the corner).. so it IS included with the unit. You’ll need to unscrew a small cap that’s located inside the drainage drawer bay, on the upper side, then slip the rubber sealed end of the hose onto the small spigot there. NOTE: The pipe must be drained via gravity. (No going upwards, as this will make the water flow back into the dehumidifier. The hose isn’t hugely long (a tad over 1m) but it’s enough to run into a lower drainage point.

• The Ausclimate app does work, but took me a few tries to get setup on my iPad. It will ONLY work over a 2.4GHz wi-fi connection, (not 5GHz and 6GHz found in newer access points) but the initial setup requires bluetooth to be enabled on your smartphone/tablet at a minimum. For an even easier setup, location services can be enabled for the app, and this will help with choosing regional wi-fi channels. Also, allowing the app to find devices on the network makes adding/configuring the dehumidifier much easier. NOTE: Newer routers with IOT restrictions for general security improvements may hinder detection and setup. The app will require an account and a valid email address to setup. There's no cost to it, and no subscription beyond dowloading a free app.

• Integration with Alexa and similar smart home devices is possible.. but I don’t have any so I can’t say for sure.

• This dehumidifier often takes up to 10 minutes to shut down. Push the “power” button, and suddenly you get 10 being displayed, and it counts down to zero until complete power-down. The fan may continue to operate, the louver may sway.. it really looks like it just keeps working (I originally thought I pushed the wrong button) but it does shut down… eventually.

• 2 year standard warranty, extendable to 4 years (free of charge) by registering the unit on the Ausclimate.com.au web site.

• Wider operating temperature range (From just above freezing to 40 Celsius).. other models are limited to max temps of 35, or even 30C. I think the motor(s) have better cooling.

CONS:

• No remote provided, it uses smart phone/app/Alexa integration to provide this feature. • Takes 10 minutes to shut down once the button has been pushed. • Probably not the best if the unit is likely to be tipped over. • Floor-level drainage drawer might be a problem for folks with limited mobility. • Uses 10% more power than specified at max speed. • High power settings 5dB louder than specified on the site. Although still very tolerable.

THE AUSCLIMATE ACD200 DEHUMIDIFIER:

With a retail price of $499 (about $449 on sale at the time of writing) on the Ausclimate.com.au site. This particular model is aimed at mid-to-larger living areas. The box says it’ll handle rooms up to 50 square metres of floor space, or 125 cubic metres (assuming ceilings of about 2.5m high). That said, if you have gabled or higher ceilings, large open-plan areas with light-wells/stairwells, or split levels… that’s going to need consideration… particularly when it comes to the dehumidifier’s placement. Putting it in more central locations seems to help quite a bit. If it’s at one end of a space compared to another.. the other end remains noticeably more humid.

When it says 10L unit, it’s not a measurement of the drawer capacity as you might expect, but the recommended total daily water extraction the unit is designed to handle. With the drawer only 2L large, this 10L unit is good for 5 separate container loads a day. If you need more than this, Ausclimate does offer larger, 25L even 35L models. Interestingly, some of those are CHEAPER than this unit. I’m not sure why, but maybe they’re older models. That’s blind speculation on my part, and I’m running SOLELY from my casual online research into the brand (and other brands).

Pricing seems to be basically on par with other brands found in Harvey Norman, Bing Lee, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, etc… Although Ausclimate isn’t sold in every major retailer, but the reduced sale prices found on the Ausclimate web site, are passed through and found (for example) Harvey Norman’s site. I assume they’d be available at any reseller… however it always pays to shop around. :-)

WARRANTY:

With a base warranty of 2 years (24 months) this is on par with Dyson out of the box. If you register the unit on the Ausclimate web site, you get an additional 2 years, taking it to a total of 4 years or 48 months. The warranty has the option of repairs, but it can also offer a simple replacement, at Ausclimate’s discretion. Naturally, I’d really like to see a more modular design and a longer warranty (say 10 years) for the reduction in e-waste.. but this is still AT LEAST on par with prestige brands like Dyson, and even some of Miele’s appliances.

SHOULD YOU BUY FROM AUSCLIMATE DIRECT OR THROUGH A RESELLER?

Honestly, the Ausclimate site, if you add a dehumidifier to the shopping “cart”, the site gives you an order preamble about “shipping costs are calculated…. Remote areas/heavy items may have a surcharge…..” But then at the bottom of that page, it says “Free shipping Australia Wide on ALL of their major appliances (Dehumidifiers, heaters, air conditioners, air purifiers)… so it’s only the accessories like filters for the air purifiers and perhaps… the additional replacement parts “continuous drainage hose” for this dehumidifier) that have shipping charges.

BACK TO THE ACD200 FEATURES:

- 2 year warranty by default with an additional 2 years upon registration. (Total 4 years for those who’ve repressed their memories of maths classes). - It has a relatively simple (and intuitive) button interface with simple LED display for set humidity levels. There’s no remote, and expects a smart phone/tablet with wi-fi and the Ausclimate app to provide that function. - App support (Apple and Android) is available and it has possible integration with smart home devices like Alexa. The app can schedule routine run times, which cannot be set up on the device itself. It can also lock the device buttons (child lock feature) for those who have little ones. - Captures the water into a drawer that needs routine emptying. It’s only 2L large which may suit smaller or injured people over larger bucket-sized containers. - Has a basic air filter that is pretty easy to clean. However, I recommend doing so by hand. - There’s a negative ion generator (anion) generator which has pros and cons… strengths, and limitations that you need to understand. Yes, it CAN make things healthier, but it also poses some risks as well. - Isn’t heavy, (9.15Kg) but since there’s both water in the tank with the electricity flowing into the unit.. moving it around carelessly without emptying the drawer could pose a safety risk.

AESTHETICS:

It’s not a fancy unit by all appearances. It’s white plastic (front/back) with dark grey/black sides with diagonal striped texture. This particular model doesn’t seem to have any other choices of colours like “graphite” or fancy fabric option like some of the other Ausclimate models. Which is interesting, because some of the other models are similarly or even lower priced.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO RUN?

Unfortunately, power prices vary from one state to the next, or choice of provider. However, while the spec sheet of the ACD200 (this 10L desiccant dehumidifier) says it runs at 610W. My readings indicate a longer-term average of 661W with the fan on high. So if you run it for an hour, that’ll be 0.661 KW/h which in the ACT could be anywhere from 2 to 7.5 cents in July 2025. A quick check of your power bill rates will help you to figure out a cost that’s relevant to your situation. The filter on the back is removable, and is easily rinsed off. It may not be perfect, but more than enough to last for years. That said if you use it in a wood working workshop with fine dust, or work with lots of fine powders like flour… that filter is NOT up to that task. This is a dehumidifier, not an HEPA rated air purifier/filter. Expectations need to be kept with this in mind.

HOW LOUD IS IT?

Please see the attached noise level graphs for each of the 3 fan speed settings. I recorded the ACD200 using the Apple iPhone NIOSH app (The U.S. Health & Safety Department’s own official noise safety app). Recorded at 1 metre distance in a quiet, carpeted room. Reverb in tighter spaces or harder surfaces adds another 1.5-2.2dB on average.

What’s the difference between C-Weight and A-Weight? A weight “down-plays”/is less sensitive to, some of the lower (bassy) hums/tones that might be lurking in the background (fridge motors, central heating/cooling, the neighbour down the road mowing the lawn, etc) whereas the C weight includes a more “general reflection” of the sonic environment that might be more relevant/accurate by including lower tones that are generated by the dehumidifier itself. Since this unit does emit motor noise (a low-key hum) behind the noise of the fan itself in the unit… I’ve included C weight, despite the chance for confounding it with my environment. That said the A-weight reflects the noises you’re most likely to notice from this machine (i.e. the fan, air rushing through, etc).

Honestly, it’s about as loud as your average pedestal fan.. set to a medium to high-ish speed . On low, I barely know it’s there if I’m only a metre or two away.

HOW HARD IS IT TO EMPTY?

The drawer slides out of the right-hand side, simply pour it on your favourite pot plants, garden, or into the nearest sink, and slide the drawer back in. Not challenging at all. However, if you have shaky limbs you might spill a full drawer, or trouble reaching floor-level objects, (it’s a long way to the floor after all) then either setting this dehumidifier on a table might be a better option. A bench top with a sink could also allow you to use the continuous drainage pipe, and skip the emptying altogether.

THE AUSCLIMATE APP:

Have a look at the included app screen shots.

Honestly, I’m an IT guy, and I had much more difficulty setting the Ausclimate app up than I originally expected. It may be an actual advantage here to have OLDER wi-fi setups. Using my cutting edge Wi-fi 7 setup with several security features enabled… did NOT work out of the box.

I had network connection errors during initial setup, and some 10002 errors when trying to establish a connection. Unfortunately, error 10002 which meant nothing to me initially. Ensuring that I was on a 2.4GHz wifi network, with an IOT-rated (insecure) network increased my odds of a successful connection to my iPad Pro. Enabling location services, the ability for the Ausclimate app to search local networks, bluetooth, and more was a little… concerning from an IT security perspective. Considering the remarkable similarity of icons and general app behaviour to my Tuya-branded smart devices… leads me to think it’s probably based on similar systems (if not the same one). If you’re paranoid about your IT security, then may I humbly suggest that you set up a dedicated IOT network on newer routers, or find an old router and dedicate it to running these devices on a completely separate network device, (suitably firewalled of course). Those of you with Wifi 6 (or worse yet 7) networks naturally block some of these devices as a default means to protect your network. Obviously, the device AND controlling tablet/phone need to be on the SAME IOT/relatively insecure network.

I looked up the TUYA developer error codes…. 10002 means “session is invalid”…. Which doesn’t help an end-user like myself… and it doesn’t tell me where the session failed or what to do with that information. Perhaps my Ausclimate app account creation took a while after I registered? That’s again, blind speculation on my part.. because it could be anything.

It took me about an hour and 7 attempts to get it to add the device.. and even then, the app couldn’t quite connect to the device after adding it several times. Rebooting the iPad after configuring, and being extremely patient during the “adding device” phase…. (Which involved waiting about 10 minutes on my 2019 edition iPad Pro) seemed to help. Once it worked, it was intuitive, and worked very well. The read-out on the device was promptly (within 10 seconds) updated/reflected on the app, and the device responded near-instantaneously to remote commands.

Obviously, the app does NOT help with emptying the container, so if it shuts down due to the tank being filled. The app won’t help much.

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS:

Price: 90% There are models that may be better suited, or offer better purchase value, but at $400+ I expected a higher extraction capacity.

Performance: 90% While it works well, even I’ve deducted 10% for the ridiculously long shut down period, which late at night is an inconvenience I’d rather not have to deal with.

Ease of Use: 60-90% Basic functions on the dehumidifier itself are largely intuitive, but the documentation/experience isn’t without flaws. The online manual says that the hose is an optional extra, but it’s included and hidden in the drainage drawer itself (the manual wasn’t exactly explicit on this), and the long shut down leaves me questioning if I’m using it correctly or pushed the button hard enough. The countdown wasn’t explained very well. With those, I’m deducting 10%. The Wi-Fi setup process and various Wi-Fi environment limitations is already dated. The initial setup is quite buggy and error prone and error messages largely meaningless. I’m deducting 30% here if you’re a technophobe trying to get it to work, it’d be FRUSTRATING. (Translation, get your tech maven friend/family member to do this for you) Once it’s set up, it works very well and is responsive, but the app needs a lot of basic security protections to be turned off entirely, or made specifically exempt. (Not good in this day and age). I’m not going to deduct points for “not supplying a remote”, it’s clear about that, and the app provides some nice additional features to offset the inconvenience.

Overall Design: 75-80% It’s plastic and doesn’t have the range of colours/finishes of other models. However, an all-plasticconstruction handles spills a LOT better than the fabric options… This is a matter of personal preference, but the unit works well if looking a little cheaper than the fancier models.

Warranty: 65%-85% To get full marks, I expect 10 years or more, preferably with a modular design for easy repairs, and heavy use of easily recyclable materials. 4 years IS better than most of the competition, but I am left asking “is that a bar to be particularly proud of?”, So I’m deducting a minimum of 15%. I’d like to have seen a 4 year period by default as a minimum… rather than extending it from 2 years, (another 15% loss) and because it’s more likely to be a replacement policy than actual repair, I’m thinking another 5% deduction.

Overall 380-435 out of 500 (76% - 86.8% or 3.75 - 4.34 out of 5 stars.. I’m going to give it 4 stars because that’s the closest I can give here on ProductReview.)

Your mileage WILL vary:

Now, if you have an ideal Wifi environment of an older persuasion, and newer mobile device or just someone else to set it up for you… you might ignore my “ease of use” deductions. Maybe you don’t care about aesthetics too much, then the design deductions might be erased. If you’re constantly looking for the latest and greatest tech in your home, then maybe the warranty exceeds the time you’re likely to keep the device… in which case, my warranty deductions are moot. Perhaps you’re a high-value individual, and $450-500 is nothing to you, then the price deductions aren’t exactly important either. I set a pretty high standard so people who expect a reasonable return/feature set/performance are hopefully helped. Any lower requirements merely improve the ratings accordingly.

FINAL THOUGHTS/CONCLUSION:

I think that the Ausclimate ACD200 10L desiccant dehumidifier offers a compact, and surprisingly effective way to manage unwanted humidity in a surprisingly wide variety of situations. The smaller size makes it perfect for smaller areas, but It’s not at all helpless in bigger/more demanding situations. Yes, there ARE cheaper models in Ausclimate’s range that do have higher extraction capabilities but aren’t amongst the latest models like this one. That said, Ausclimate’s range on the whole is cheaper than some of the other brands if comparing similar models. Furthermore, the option to extend the warranty to twice the default warranties of other brands WITHOUT extra payment is a nice feature worth looking into. (I didn’t check to see if a similar arrangement is available with all of the other brands, so do your own research if you’re considering alternatives).

If you’re not fussed about “smart” controls, apps, and integration with Alexa, you can absolutely run the basic functions from the button interface on the actual unit. That said, there’s no dedicated remote included with the unit. So it may be better to buy a less smart model for some people. Given the number of warnings related to tipping, supervision of children is definitely recommended… I’d even go so far as to say “put it on a desk/bench top” if pets/children are around. While there’s a child lock on the controls, the unit itself would not handle being tipped over well, particularly if using the drainage drawer.

I hope this helps you on your dehumidifier purchase. This has been a HUGE help to us this winter. If there’s any more developments after my “ambassadorial deadline”, I’ll add it later.