I'm thankful to live in San Diego where for 90% of the year I can leave my windows wide open and get fresh air. It quite literally never rains here and the temperature is almost always 70 degree. However, there are those few weeks per year when it gets hot. Compared to those of you back easy suffering from 100+ degree days right now our 90's might seem nice. Unfortunately, when the temperature inside your loft is more than 80 degrees, things like taking a conference call or being able to concentrate while writing posts like this are near impossible. Without the ability to install a window box air conditioner, I've had to rely on portable units instead. Compared to those other ones, I'm in love with this new unit from Midea. Not only does it have all the standard features but it also can connect to Google Assistant or Alexa so I can set schedules and turn it on or off remotely just by telling it to.
Purchasing an air conditioner is a somewhat complicated task. It used to be easy - figure out the square footage of your space and then go and buy a window box unit. Today you have to decide what's best for your space. Portable AC units are a great option for people like myself that don't have windows where they can mount a window unit. However, they are far less efficient. I didn't realize this when I first bought one. Since then I've learned to make some adjustments to improve the efficiency that I'll share below.
Don't worry though - I'm not anti portable AC, it's just important that you get the right unit for the right job. Either way, Midea makes windowbox AC units too and based on my experience with this unit, I'd expect those to be superior products too.
I've had a fair amount of experience with portable air conditioners since this style is the only option for my loft. I live in an urban area and I'm prohibited from adding mounting brackets to hold a window box steady. Other use cases would include adding this to a mancave in your basement where the windows are only large enough to mount the exhaust vent but not a windowbox. There's lots of other scenarios where units like this can be a godsend so I'm a happy customer.
Unfortunately, not all models are created equal and within just a few moments of using this one from Midea, my others felt completely outdated. Specifically, several features stood out that I was impressed with.
Hot Air Vent Hose Is Easy To Connect And It Comes With Everything You Need - one of the most frustrating things I have faced with my other units is that it is a challenge to attach the hose to the window mount. Generally speaking, other units screw the hose into a bracket on the window mount as well as the back of the AC unit itself. Adjust the window slightly and oops the hose just unscrewed. Even worse is that I've had situations where the hose wasn't connected properly and popped out just based on vibration because it wasn't screwed in all the way. With this unit from Midea though, you screw it into an adapter and then click it into the back of the base unit for a better seal. The packaging includes everything you need to get started ... even the batteries for the remote!
Easy To Roll Around - this is clearly a subjective assessment but it seemed to roll easier than others that I have used.
Large Hand Holds On The Side - both of my other units have handles that are designed to help you carry it when rolling is impossible. For instance, carrying it up the stairs. Neither of my other units has handholds that are even close to as comfortable as this one. Dare I say it, but this is something your wife could probably pick up and move if she needed to.
Remote and Smart Home Features - neither of my other two units is more than 3 years old but only one has a remote control unit and both of them cost more than this one for the same BTUs. This unit from Midea though not only features a remote with an ambient temperature gauge but also can connect to your Android or iOS device, Alexa, or Google Assistant via WiFi to integrate it fully into your home. This might seem like a frivolous feature but the impact is that I can save money by creating schedules as well as turn it on or off without even being home. For instance, imagine being on a business trip and knowing that it's going to be hot at home. You clearly don't need to waste electricity by running it when you aren't home ... but turn it on when you get into the car heading home and return to nice cool air to relax in.
Easy To Read LED Control Pannel - both of my other units relies on simple on/off LED indicators with very basic functionality. This Midea portable ac though has a huge control panel with lots of options and even one that tells you when to change the filter.
This is clearly a sponsored post but I'm truly impressed with this product. This Midea portable ac has all the functions you need and it's a great price too. We have a 15% off promotion as well. Just make sure to click with this link and it will take you to Amazon where you'll save 15% automatically now through August 1.
How To Improve The Efficiency of Your Portable AC
To be completely fair, this portable ac unit from Midea is designed to be as efficient as possible. Simply the ability to set schedules and turn on/off remotely is a huge improvement over conventional units. Additionally, the intelligent on/off technology allows the unit to reduce energy consumption by 90% when in standby. However, there are some other quick things you can do to improve this efficiency further.
Avoid Placing the Unit in Hot and Humid Areas - Not only will hot areas be harder to cool but humid areas will create more condensation on the condenser coils. This will result in the unit working harder and the ice from the condensation will ultimately insulate the unit reducing its ability to transfer energy and the water that does melt will need to be drained more often.
Place the Unit As Close To The Window As Possible - the portable air conditioner will vent extremely hot air as it is quite literally sucking heat from your room and exhausting it to the outside of your house. This means that you want that heat out of your house as quickly as possible.
Consider Insulating The Exhaust Hose - I learned this trick from a Navy friend of mine who used to do ductwork on aircraft carriers. He pointed out that the exhaust hose was in fact radiating heat back into the room before being able to fully escape. By wrapping blankets around the hose as well as potentially foam insulation pads you can reduce the amount of radiating heat.
Keep Your Filter Clean and Consider Seasonal Maintenance - Your air conditioning filter on the Midea portable ac is removable and easy to clean, plus there's an indicator LED to tell you when to clean it. So, there's no excuse to have a dirty one reducing the flow of air into the ac unit. Likewise, just like a windowbox or central ac system, you should consider seasonable maintenance including at least blowing out any dust that may have accumulated over teh winter and making sure to fully drain the air conditioner before putting it away.
Mount the Window Vent Properly - Midea provides not just the plastic sliding bracket to mount the exhaust hose but also foam weatherstripping to help seal the window. This is an essential step since you want to avoid sucking hot air back into the house. By the nature of how these units work, it is sucking air from inside and pushing it out. This creates a negative pressure situation where hot air is more likely to be pulled in than pushed out. By sealing any gaps you can reduce the amount of hot air from outside that gets pulled back in.
When installed and used properly, a portable ac like this one from Midea is a great option in situations where a windowbox is not possible. When you buy it, make sure to use promo code 15MIDEA08 to save 15% between now and August 1.
