AlorAir Storm LGR Extreme vs HDi100: Filtration vs Capacity

Two AlorAir units that overlap more than they differ

The AlorAir Storm LGR Extreme and Sentinel HDi100 come from the same brand and share a lot of DNA: both include a condensate pump with pump-and-gravity drainage, both are rated to keep working in the cold (34°F for the Storm, 33.8°F for the HDi100 — effectively the same), and both carry a five-year warranty. So this isn’t a cold-versus-warm or pump-versus-gravity decision like some matchups — both handle those well. It comes down to a narrower trade-off between capacity and reach on one side, and filtration and handling on the other. The spec table above lays it all out; here’s what actually separates them.

The HDi100’s case: more capacity and reach

The HDi100 is the bigger performer on the numbers that scale with space size. It’s rated at 100 pints per day at the AHAM condition of 80°F and 60% relative humidity against the Storm’s 85, claims 2,900 square feet of coverage to the Storm’s 2,300, and moves more air at 250 CFM versus 210. It also posts a higher saturation rating — 220 pints per day near 100% humidity versus the Storm’s 180 — and a better energy factor, 2.7 L/kWh against 2.44. If your crawl space is larger or wetter and you want the most moisture-removal capacity of the two, the HDi100 is the stronger unit.

The Storm’s case: filtration, weight, and design intent

The Storm answers on different specs. Its filter is MERV-8 — genuine particulate filtration — against the HDi100’s basic MERV-1, so in a dusty crawl space it does noticeably more for air quality. It’s lighter and smaller: 70.5 pounds and 17.3 inches tall versus the HDi100’s 88 pounds and 17.9 inches, which makes it easier to place in a tight space. It’s also marginally quieter, at 58 dBA versus the HDi100’s 60. And it’s a low-grain-refrigerant (LGR) design — the restoration-grade lineage built to drive humidity down to a low, stable target — so for a space recovering from bulk water or one where you want humidity pushed low rather than just held in check, the Storm is purpose-built for that job even at its lower rated capacity.

Running cost: unverified for both

Neither unit gives us a verified operating cost. The Storm lists 5.62 amps and the HDi100 lists 6.82 amps, but neither publishes a rated wattage, and we won’t convert amps and volts into watts and present it as a cost — that’s apparent power, not true consumption. Our method is consistent for every unit: watts divided by 1,000, times an assumed 12 active hours a day (a 50% duty-cycle assumption, since the compressor cycles rather than running continuously), times 30 days, times the months you run it, times your local rate. With no verified wattage for either, both estimates stay unverified. The HDi100’s higher 2.7 L/kWh energy factor suggests it’s the more efficient of the two per unit of water removed, but that’s an inference we can’t turn into a dollar figure for either unit. We have no verified street price for either — check current listings before budgeting, and note the Storm’s warranty, like much restoration-grade equipment, is worth confirming for its exact tier of coverage.

Match it to the job, not the spec sheet

Because both are cold-tolerant pump units from the same brand, the deciding question is what kind of job the crawl space actually is. If it’s a steady-state maintenance job — a reasonably sound space you want kept dry across a humid season — the HDi100’s extra capacity and reach are the more useful attributes, and the MERV-1 filter and higher noise are livable trade-offs for covering more square footage. If it’s a problem space — one recovering from bulk water, or one where you want humidity driven to a low, stable target rather than merely capped — the Storm’s restoration-grade design is doing something the HDi100 isn’t built to do as well, and its MERV-8 filter is a bonus in the dusty conditions that problem spaces tend to have. The filtration gap is worth weighing on its own: MERV-8 versus MERV-1 is a real difference in how much airborne particulate each unit captures, which matters if air quality is part of why you’re dehumidifying at all. Size the space first with our sizing calculator, then let the nature of the job — routine or recovery — point you to the unit built for it.

Which one we’d pick

Since both are cold-tolerant pump units, this comes down to what your space needs more. Choose the HDi100 if it’s larger or wetter and capacity and coverage are your priority — it simply removes more moisture and reaches farther. Choose the Storm LGR Extreme if filtration matters, if you want the lighter, easier-to-place unit, or if the space is a genuine problem case where its restoration-grade design to drive humidity low is the point. Neither is a wrong answer; they’re tuned for different jobs. Confirm your capacity need and space with our sizing calculator, and pick on the axis — reach or filtration — that fits your crawl space. Since both come from AlorAir and share the pump and cold tolerance, this is a comfortable decision to make: whichever way you lean, you’re getting a genuinely cold-capable, pump-equipped unit, and the trade-off is only in where its strengths are concentrated. That makes this a lower-stakes decision than most on this site — it’s hard to go badly wrong either way, so choose on the one axis that matters most to your space and don’t overthink the rest.