Midea Portasplit Review

The Midea Portasplit is an unusual air conditioner with a clear objective: to deliver cooling performance close to that of a full installation without the drawbacks that normally come with one. Its small footprint and remote-module system make it an interesting compromise for homes that struggle through repeated heatwaves.

The conditions behind the observations below matter. The unit was used in a recent, airtight single-storey house designed to retain heat. The main room of 45 m² housed the appliance, within a total living area of 75 m², with a north-facing sliding window through which the external block was placed.

The Portasplit is rated at 3500 W, or 12000 BTU, for both cooling and heating, with SEER of 6.1 and SCOP of 4.0, corresponding to A++ and A+ energy classes. It uses R32 refrigerant and moves 380 m³/h of air indoors, and it also offers dehumidifying and fan modes. The indoor unit weighs 32.5 kg and the outdoor module 9.9 kg, the latter measuring 498 × 438 × 257 mm. The two are joined by a fixed 2 m hose that cannot be extended. The manufacturer quotes an indoor noise level of 39 to 49 dB(A) and a maximum recommended area of 40 m².

The Midea Portasplit is certainly the air conditioner that fits most gracefully into a living room. Its clean, cubic design on castors makes it easy to find a place near a window without clashing with the rest of the decoration. Positioning is constrained by the 2 m hose linking the indoor and outdoor units, which cannot be disconnected. To make storage easier at the end of summer, the two modules can be stacked and moved somewhere more discreet. Because of the combined weight and size, moving the whole thing in its packaging is a job for two people or for a set of moving rollers.

Setting it up is straightforward: a little assembly of the bracket to adapt it to the window, positioning the indoor unit nearby, and clipping the external module onto its support. The supplied bracket is intended for a sliding or casement window. It is of no use for anyone routing the unit through a door or a patio door, and a specific bracket has to be bought separately for mounting on a balcony railing or beneath a roof window.

Depending on the window chosen, the opening has to be closed off in different ways. Midea supplies a fabric kit to seal a conventional casement window, and the manufacturer lists further sealing kits for patio doors and roof windows on its own site.

Day to day, the air conditioner is quickly forgotten. In a house with almost twice the maximum recommended floor area, living comfort was substantially improved. The 45 m² living room was the coolest at 24.5 °C, while the hallway and adjoining rooms saw a less effective reduction in temperature that was nonetheless enough to make a day of home working comfortable. Positioning fans strategically helps spread the cooled air more effectively.

What should not be expected is the target temperature in distant rooms: the bedroom nearest the hallway and living room measured 27 °C at the head of the bed, and the furthest bedroom 28 °C. This remains a single-room appliance whose effect diminishes with distance.

One metre from the indoor unit, the measured noise level was 55 dB, equivalent to a high-end quiet fan at full power. The indoor unit only produces the sound of air being blown into the room, because the compressor noise is relocated outside on the far side of the window. It is therefore normal for the appliance to be at its loudest at start-up, while it brings the general room temperature down, before reducing airflow to hold the desired temperature.

Once that holding phase is reached, it is the outdoor module that draws attention, provided you are close to the window. The whole thing stays relatively quiet, and there was no difficulty watching television at close range with the unit sitting right beside the sofa.

For installation in a bedroom, the silent mode is the setting to use for cool, quiet sleeping. To maximise quiet, the outdoor module needs to be completely stable so that it does not generate vibration noise, and a roll of rubber is supplied to absorb metallic sounds if required.

Usefully, the appliance can be used with or without the remote control thanks to the touch buttons placed on the top face. If the remote disappears down the back of the sofa, the Midea Portasplit is also connected over Wi-Fi. The SmartHome application allows it to be controlled remotely and provides several practical readouts:

• Monitoring of outdoor and indoor temperatures
• Scheduling and mode selection
• Electricity consumption tracking

The official application is simple, practical and functional. For anyone running a Home Assistant, Google Home or Alexa setup, the Midea Portasplit integrates without difficulty.

During a heatwave, with an outdoor temperature above 30 °C and a target of 24 °C inside the house, consumption of approximately 5.5 kWh was recorded over a 24-hour period. That reading was taken from the moment the air conditioner was switched on. Because the outside temperature was already 30 °C at start-up, the calculation is biased upwards, since the appliance first had to compensate for the heat accumulated during the day before simply maintaining the temperature.

With 35 °C measured in the shade next to the outdoor module, the instantaneous consumption reported by the SmartHome application was around 790 W while the unit was cooling towards 24 °C. The connected socket it was plugged into displayed 800 W, so the two measurements are consistent. The air conditioner uses Auto mode by default, which lets it regulate its consumption automatically. Real consumption will vary according to the area being cooled, the insulation and airtightness of the home and the electricity contract in force.

Keeping the Portasplit in good order is relatively simple, and the manual sets out the operations clearly. The filter should be cleaned in hot water every 250 hours of use, or roughly every two weeks. The HEPA filter should be blown out and replaced every six months. The Active Clean function should be run once a month to clear dust and residue from the unit, and the casing can be kept clean with a damp cloth.

Before storing the air conditioner away for the winter, the filters should be cleaned and any remaining condensate drained through the dedicated drain plug.