Midea Duo Review

Initial Analysis

The Midea Duo (MAP14S1TBL-A) offers 14,000 BTUs of cooling capacity under older ASHRAE guidelines for measuring cooling capacity. Under newer US DOE guidelines it offers 12,000 BTUs of Seasonally Adjusted Cooling Capacity (SACC).

Compared to ASHRAE BTUs, SACC BTUs are much more representative of the actual cooling capacity of a portable air conditioner.

In our 100 sq. ft. test room, units with the same ASHRAE BTUs performed dramatically differently depending on their SACC BTUs.

For example, 14,000 ASHRAE BTU units with 12,000 SACC BTUs, like the Midea Duo, lowered room temperature much quicker and were able to get the room much cooler after one full hour of operation than 14,000 ASHRAE BTU units with 10,000 SACC BTUs.

Here is a list of all of the 14,000 ASHRAE BTU units we tested recently and their respective SACC BTUs:

Again, 12,000 SACC BTU models (like the Midea Duo) performed much better in our testing than 10,000 SACC BTU models (like the Frigidaire FHPC142AA1, for example).

All of the 12,000 SACC BTU models we tested performed very similarly to each other.

First Test – Outdoor Temp. of 83° F

In our first test, at an outdoor temperature of 83° F, the Midea Duo cooled the room from 86° F down to 72° F in 12 minutes. The Whynter ARC-1230WN took 11 minutes, and the GE PPHH12WWF took 13 minutes.

After one full hour of operation, the Midea cooled the room down to 63.1° F, the Whynter cooled it to 63.0° F and the GE cooled it to 63.7° F. Note how these results (among 12,000 SACC BTU units) are very similar to each other.

That is not the case for 12,000 SACC BTU units vs 10,000 SACC BTU units.

10,000 SACC BTU units took about 7 to 8 minutes longer to initially cool the room (from 86° F down to 72° F) and left the room about 4 to 5° F warmer after one full hour of operation.

For example, the LG LP1025WHSM took 20 minutes to initially cool the room and cooled it down to 67.3° F after one hour (vs 12 minutes and 63.1° F for the Midea).

Second Test – Outdoor Temp. of 89° F

In our second test, at a warmer outdoor temperature of 89° F, the Midea initially cooled the room from 86° F down to 72° F in 15 minutes. The Whynter took 13 minutes and the GE also took 15 minutes like the Midea.

The Midea cooled the room down to 65.3° F after one hour. The Whynter cooled it to 64.4° F and the GE cooled it to 64.2° F.

10,000 SACC BTU units took almost three times as long (30 to 40 minutes) to initially cool the room and left the room about 5 to 6° warmer (at about 70° F) after one full hour of operation in this second test.

Third Test – Outdoor Temp. of 91° F

In our third and final test, at an even warmer outdoor temperature of 91° F, the Midea initially cooled the room from 86° F down to 72° F in 17 minutes. The Whynter took 16 minutes, and the GE also took 17 minutes like the Midea.

After one hour the Midea cooled the room down to 65.7° F. The Whynter cooled it to 65.3° F and the GE cooled it down to 66.0° F.

10,000 SACC BTU units again took much longer (40 to 60 minutes) to cool the room down initially and left the room much warmer (at about 72° F) after one hour.

The bottom line – the Midea Duo cooled the room just as well as the other two 12,000 SACC BTU models we tested. These units, collectively, greatly outperformed all of the lower SACC BTU models we tested.

The Midea Duo and Whynter ARC-1230WN were both measured to draw slightly less power than all of the other 14,000 ASHRAE BTU portable AC units we tested.

So the Midea and Whynter not only cool better than most of these other units, but they draw less power to do so as well.

We can more easily compare energy efficiency between different models by dividing seasonally adjusted cooling capacity by power draw.

The Midea draws 1269 watts of power and provides 12,000 SACC BTUs of cooling capacity. This gives it a SACC/watt ratio of 9.5.

The table below also lists the CEER – or Combined Energy Efficiency Ratios – of all of the 14,000 ASHRAE BTU models we recently tested. The previously mentioned SACC/watt ratio only accounts for energy efficiency on a portable AC unit’s cooling mode. It’s also a product, or rather a quotient, of our testing. CEER accounts for energy efficiency on all modes – not just cooling mode (modes like dehumidifier mode and fan only mode). It’s also a manufacturer specification – it isn’t based on any of our testing.

By either metric (SACC/watt or CEER), the Midea is (at least tied for being) the most energy efficient portable AC unit we’ve tested so far.

The Midea does feature an inverter (variable speed) compressor, which allows it to run at a lower cooling capacity at a lower power draw on lower settings (low or medium instead of high).

Most other portable AC units use a single stage compressor – they only run at maximum cooling capacity with maximum power draw at all times.

Setting the Midea to medium or low drastically reduces its noise output as well.

The Midea was measured at only 52.5 dB of noise output on low. Other inverter 12,000 SACC BTU units (including the Whynter ARC-1230WN and GE PPHH12WWF) were measured at the same approximate noise level on low.

Single stage compressor units were measured to be much louder on low. The Frigidaire FHPC142AA1, for example, was measured at 58.4 dB on low.

Most of portable of AC units we tested were measured at a very similar noise level on high.

So, while the Midea (and other inverter units) can get quieter on low, it doesn’t really have this same advantage on high.

A few more caveats

On lower settings the Duo does produce less noise, but its fan speed no longer masks its compressor noise. On higher settings, the quality of the noise it produces is much better – it’s a much more pleasant noise to listen to.

On lower settings the Duo does draw less power, but it will need to run longer to do the same amount of cooling. On higher settings it draws more power, but its compressor can actually switch off to draw almost no power for longer periods of time.

The bottom line is that this unit’s inverter compressor does give you more flexibility in how you run it, but you’ll rarely want to actually take advantage of this flexibility (running it on lower settings). For the vast majority of the time you’ll likely just want to run it on its highest setting, just like a single stage compressor unit.

Pros and Cons

Conclusion

The Midea Duo (MAP14S1TBL-A) is the best portable air conditioner we’ve tested so far.

It, along with the other two 12,000 SACC BTU units we tested, cooled our test room much faster and to a much lower temperature than all of the lower SACC BTU models we tested.

Among the three 12,000 SACC BTU models we tested, we put the Midea Duo and Whynter ARC-1230WN higher in our rankings than the GE PPHH12WWF because they run more efficiently. The GE cools just as well as the Midea and Whynter but it draws substantially more power to do so.

We put the Midea ahead of the Whynter in our rankings because it comes with a much better window installation kit. The Midea comes with a five piece kit and multiple shorter extensions which allows you to install it without needing to cut any of the pieces. The Whynter only comes with a three piece kit and they’re all very long panels. So you’re much more likely to need to cut one of those pieces to install the Whynter.

Overall, the Midea Duo (MAP14S1TBL-A) gets our highest recommendation as the best portable air conditioner you can buy at this time.

Note: if the MAP14S1TBL-A is unavailable (if it's out of stock) or if you also require heating functionality, get the MAP14HS1TBL-A instead. The MAP14HS1TBL-A is identical to the MAP14S1TBL-A except that it adds heating functionality.

Additional specifications and notes

Number of Window Panels – 5 (1x primary panel with hose cutout, 1x short extension, 1x medium extension, and 2x long extensions)
Minimum Window Width (one panel) – 19 1/8” (length of primary panel)
Minimum Window Width (two panels) – 19 2/8” (primary panel + short extension)
Maximum Window Width (five panels) – 63 4/5” (primary panel + extension)
Weather stripping included – yes, extensive kit included - 4x adhesive foam seals (long), 2x adhesive foam seals (short), 2x seals (long and non-adhesive), 2x adhesive window slider foam (large, flat, and rectangular - fits on actual window slider to insulate it)

Notes

Many competitor window kits only come with 2 or 3 panels, and are therefore much more likely to require cutting of (at least one of) those panels for installation.

Most competitors also do not come with nearly as many weather stripping pieces. The Duo is also the only portable AC unit we’ve tested that comes with window panel foam to insulate the full surface area of the window panel.

End Adapters – pre-installed? - yes
AC Side Hose Connection – permanently attached
Window Kit Side Hose Connection – align tabs on end adapter of hose with slots in window bracket, push in to lock in place
Hose Length Min/Max – 13 to 48"
Hose Diameter – inner warmer exhaust hose = 5.25"; outer cooler intake hose is approx. 5x6"; whole "hose" structure is approx. 12x7"

Notes

This unit’s hose is slightly shorter than that of many competitors, which have hoses that can extend up to about 60”.

On the positive side of things, the Duo is one of only a handful of models on the market that has its hose permanently attached to its body, which allows for easier storage of the hose. There’s a clip on the back of the unit that keeps the hose upright, attached the to the main body of the portable AC unit, when it’s not installed into a window panel.

Modes – auto, cool, dry, fan, heat (MAP14HS1TBL-A only)
Set temp range - 60 to 86° F
Fan speeds - auto, low, med, high
Timer – can be set in half hour increments up to 10 hours, then in one hour increments up to 24 hours
Lights turn off - yes, can be turned off with physical remote and/or companion app
Swing – yes
Smart – yes

Notes

Most other portable AC units on the market also feature cool, dry (dehumidifier), and fan only modes. Most other units also have a similar set temperature range and timer functionality.

Most competitors do not give you the ability to turn all control panel lights off.

Only expensive competitors (usually $400+) also have “swing” (louvers automatically swing up and down) and “smart” (remote control via app) functionality.

Dehumidifier mode pints/day – 124.7 pints/day
Drainage options - 3x drain outlets - one higher up on the back of the unit (for drainage on dry mode) and two towards the bottom of the unit (one for cool/dry mode overflow - unit will beep 8 times and display "P1" if you need to drain in especially humid conditions; other outlet is only on the MAP14HS1TBL-A – for use on heat mode)
Drain hose – included (length is 23.5")

Notes

The Duo also works very well to dehumidify air. For comparison, the average stand-alone portable dehumidifier can remove only about 50 pints of moisture from the air per day.

Note that you do have to have a drain hose (included) attached to use this unit when using it on dry (dehumidifier) mode. It doesn’t have a bucket that collects condensate like a portable dehumidifier.

You probably won’t need to have a drain hose attached when using this unit on cooling (air conditioning) mode. Moisture will self-evaporate. You will only need to connect a drain hose if you use the unit in an especially humid environment (if it cannot evaporate moisture fast enough).

Top filter (over evaporator) - very easy to remove – clips in with no screws
Bottom filter (over condenser) – NA (there is no filter over the condenser)