MeacoDry Arete Two

The MeacoDry Arete Two is a compressor dehumidifier and air purifier sold in 10, 12, 20 and 25 litre sizes, and it's the one we'd buy for most heated UK homes. The 12L, the size most people need, removes about 5.4 litres a day in a typical 20°C room while drawing 136 W, so it costs about 3.6p an hour to run. It's quiet from 35 dB on its lowest fan, holds your chosen humidity automatically, and comes with a five-year warranty.

Its edge over the cheaper Arete One is everyday convenience: a display showing current and target humidity side by side, a third, faster fan for laundry, proper timers, and app and voice control. The weak points are the ones you'd expect. The app works but hides its scheduling, the units are heavy for their size, and as with any compressor model it collects little in a cold room. At around £179 to £200 for the 12L it's fair value, and it's the top pick in our guide to the best dehumidifiers.

The Arete Two is Meaco's current flagship compressor dehumidifier, launched in September 2024 to replace the Arete One. It draws damp air over a cold coil so the moisture condenses into the tank, then passes the dried air back into the room about 2°C warmer. A built-in humidistat switches it on above your target humidity and off once it gets there, so you set it once and leave it.

Size it to your home rather than the room. The 10L and 12L suit flats and homes of up to three bedrooms with ordinary condensation; the 20L suits a four bedroom house, a very damp home, or a family drying most of its washing indoors; the 25L is for bigger homes still. The headline litres are measured at 30°C and 80% humidity, so in a British winter expect well under half that figure. Our guide to the ideal humidity in a house explains what to aim for, and 50 to 55% is plenty.

It's a heated-room machine. Below about 10°C it spends more time defrosting than drying, so for a garage, a conservatory in January or an unheated spare room, the DD8L Pro desiccant is the better tool. Everywhere else, its low power draw, quiet running and smart controls make it the easy recommendation.

Expect to pay around £179 to £200 for the 12L and £275 to £300 for the 20L. Appliances Direct has the 12L at £179.00, Air Con Centre lists it at £178.90 on pre-order with stock due on 10 November, and Meaco sells it direct at £199.99, though its own stock isn't due back until later in November. For the 20L, Air Con Centre has it in stock at £274.97 and Appliances Direct lists it at £289.00. Prices move a lot around Black Friday and the first cold snap empties shelves, so check stock as well as price.

Running costs are low. The sum is power in kW × hours × the unit rate, and at the October 2026 Ofgem price cap of 26.32p per kWh the 12L, drawing 136 W in a 20°C room, costs about 3.6p an hour, 29p for eight hours, or about £8.59 a month at eight hours a day. The 20L draws 207 W: about 5.4p an hour and 44p for eight hours. Those are flat-out figures; once the humidistat switches it off at your target, the real cost is lower. Try your own hours in our running cost calculator.

Prices correct as of 5 November 2026. Running costs use the October to December 2026 price cap, which changes quarterly.