Disclosure: This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Midea.
It seems that this summer, many places in the world are getting hit by heatwaves. In Europe, old heat records are dropping. This past week in the Mid-West and East Coast, there were over 100-degree temperatures. And tomorrow, my city is supposed to have levels over one hundred degrees. So, one of the critical things during a heatwave is to ensure that you and your loved ones stay hydrated. It’s also important not to overexert yourself. And you need to stay cool. While many people have full-home air conditioners, sometimes they are not the most energy-efficient way to cool your home. You may be in just one room. Or maybe you have an apartment or simply can’t install air conditioning. In these cases, having a portable, connected air conditioner, like the MIDEA MAP08S1BWT, is a much smarter way to go, literally “smarter” too. Oh, and by the way, use promo code 15MIDEA05 to get 15% off (code expires August 1st, 2019).
So why the MIDEA portable air conditioner? Quite simply stated, this portable ac unit has many features – from things like the fact that it connects to WiFi to being extremely easy to set up to not consuming the enormous amounts of energy that whole-home HVAC do.
The MIDEA Portable Air Conditioner
Let’s quickly take a look at the specs of the unit that I have been testing out. This particular model, the MAP08S1BWT, is one of the smaller-sized units of the MIDEA family. This one is an 8,000 BTU unit, which means that it is probably suitable for a 100 square foot room. I tried it in a smaller space as well as a larger one, and it did seem to do a great job on the smaller area but obviously took a bit longer on the larger one. There are other units for larger spaces, like a 12,000 BTU which is good for 250-300 square feet, for example, ad a 14,000 BTU version for even larger rooms (300-350 sq. ft.).
There are a lot of excellent features to like about the MIDEA. For starters, I liked the fact that it was portable. While the unit itself is a bit heavy (it weighs a little over 50 pounds), it does have built-in wheels that make it easy to move from room to room. The unit itself is clean and modern looking. The highly-polished white surfaces fit into many different environments nicely.
Set up is also very straight forward. You can, if you want, simply press the power button and start cooling the room. However, there is a factor to think about. Air conditioners produce hot air as they replace it with cool air. As a result, any air conditioner like a wall unit, portable like the MIDEA, or even a full-home A/C system, has to pump the hot air somewhere. So, if you wanted to, you could just turn on the MIDEA and vent the hotter air in a different direction. So while it cools one area, it will heat up another.
A more ideal solution is to vent the hot air out a window. The MIDEA comes with an extremely easy to install window vent. It is designed to work on either vertical or horizontal windows by merely inserting a sliding plastic window bracket, attaching the bracket to the flexible hose, and then attaching the hose to the MIDEA unit itself. They also include foam to make the window setup better. I, however, wanted to be able to move the MIDEA from room to room, which meant that I would need to be able to remove and install the window bracket easily. I’m happy to say that this is quite easy to do.
Connectivity = Smarter
The WiFi setup is quick as well with clear instructions. Once connected, you can use the MIDEA app to remotely turn on/off or adjust the mode, fan, and temperature. Since the MIDEA connects to WiFi, you can actually make it “smart” by adding the MIDEA skill to Alexa. Then you can use voice commands to do many of the controls.
For those people who don’t get the WiFi version (or who have the WiFi version but don’t want to control via Alexa or an app), there is also an included remote control which controls every aspect. And if you lose your remote, don’t worry. There are soft-touch buttons on the top of the unit that you can use to do everything.
I found this 8,000 BTU MIDEA to be quite capable of cooling small spaces in a relatively quick amount of time. The remote even has a “follow me” function, which provides the temperature where the remote is physically located. So the MIDEA will use that as the source of temperature to cool towards.
There are many different modes available. AUTO will automatically turn on the actual air conditioning when a temperature drop is needed, or turn it off and just rely on the fan to cool. You can set the fan speed to AUTO as well to have the MIDEA regulate it based on the need to cool or not. There is also a Swing button that will automatically adjust the direction of airflow slats blowing the air. They can continually cycle, or you can use the button to direct the air up or down more.
There is a sleep timer that automatically adjusts the temperature during the night. And, the MIDEA also has a dehumidifier to suck out moisture in your room for those humid environments. You do have to drain the water periodically for that. As California isn’t really humid, I haven’t tried that functionality out yet.
15% Limited Time Discount!
Overall, for about $300 on Amazon, you can get all of this great functionality in a portable air conditioner. Remember, use my Amazon code of 15MIDEA05 to get 15% off of the MIDEA MAP08S1BWT portable air conditioner. The code expires on August 1st, 2019.
I love the ability that I essentially have my own personal room cooler that I can move from room to room, and can control with an app, a physical remote, or even with my voice using Alexa. The installation was quite easy, and the usage even easier. So if you are sweltering in a heatwave or want to be a bit cooler in the next one, you should get one of these MIDEA portable air conditioners.
HTD says: In the summer heat, be sure to stay hydrated and seek out cooler environments. And, using a MIDEA portable air conditioner is a less-expensive and more energy-conscious way of cooling a smaller space without wasting energy cooling empty parts of your home.
