MIDEA AKPD14HR4 AIR CONDITIONER IMAGE SOURCE: MIDEA

Time after time, Midea has introduced units to the market that both robust, and stylish. Providing users with the cooling power they desire when they need it most, you cannot go wrong with a powerful Midea home AC unit. In this review, our team will be assessing the Midea AKPD14HR4 portable air conditioner. A heavy-hitter, this product provides the technical specifications to cool the larger rooms of a typical family living space, and then some. Check out our full review below for more details.

Midea AKPD14HR4 Portable Air Conditioner

Entering the market with a price-tag of $728.19, the Midea AKPD14HR4 is by no means an inexpensive unit. If you’re running on a tight budget, perhaps the cost of this unit may prove too much for you to consider. However, if you’re the top-of-line portable units, and have a living space large enough to demand such a powerful device, we would strongly recommend you consider this Midea product. With a reasonable range of convenience-enhancing features, the Midea AKPD14HR4 is a powerhouse in the home portable air conditioner market.

Cooling Performance

Providing 14,000 BTUs of potent cooling power, the Midea AKPD14HR4 portable air conditioner is suitable for servicing living spaces of up to 700 square feet. This essentially marks this unit as recommendable for installation in large rooms of a typical family home. As an added benefit, this unit is also capable of heating, which is a monumental bonus, as the unit will be useful to you all year-round.

Efficiency / Certifications

The Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) of a product determines how efficient the product performs, taking into account its output, and the amount of energy it consumes. The industry average stands at approximately 9.7, with units scoring over 10 being considered highly efficient. However, unfortunately this unit scores an EER of 8.9, putting it significantly below industry average. This essentially means that this unit will cost you more to run than most devices on the market. That being said, it should also be taken into consideration that it is commonplace for units with such a high BTU performance to have a lower EER, and if the cost of upkeep concerns you, there are also modes built-into this device that will lower the cost of operation.

With regard to actual certifications, this unit’s Energy Star status has not been disclosed, although it would be unlikely for a unit with an EER as low as this unit’s to receive this certification. On a positive note, the Midea AKPD14HR4 does benefit from a UL-Listing, a certification that is a pillar of the air conditioner market. In order for a unit to be rated by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), it must first pass a series of intensive assessments related to safe operation. Any unit that carries this certification is certainly safe for public use.

Convenience

With regard to convenience, the undeniably most important feature (at least from our perspective) is the wireless, full-function remote control. Several units on the market shockingly lack this feature, which may not seem like an issue, however, on those hot summer days the last thing you want to be forced to do is to move about the room every time you wish to slightly alter the performance of your unit, disrupting whatever you were previously doing.

Another common feature of air conditioners nowadays that is often overlooked is the built-in 24-hour programmable timer. With this feature, the user is enabled to input a schedule of operation into their unit, which will then operate according to the times set out for it. The example we commonly refer to to showcase the convenience of this feature is your daily commute. With a programmable timer, now you, the user, can ensure that your AC unit will begin functioning before you arrive home from work. Now you can arrive back to a living space that is cool, refreshed, and perfect for relieving the day’s tensions.

If you live in an area that suffers frequent power-outages, then this next feature is a must-have. The Auto Restart function enables this air conditioning unit to automatically reboot itself, following a power black-out. Not only this, but the unit will then continue functioning to the same capacity as it was operating at, previous to the black-out. This feature shines the most when a power-outage occurs while you are away. Without Auto Restart, your home would be subjected to the sun’s heat until you return, whereas now this is not a concern.

Finally, another common function of modern-day air conditioner units; Sleep Mode. Sleep Mode allows your device to function throughout the night, gradually allowing temperatures to rise, thus saving energy. However, while temperatures rise, this unit will still maintain a comfortable environment, so as not to disturb your rest. An additional side-effect of this mode is quieter operation, making it even more suitable for nighttime operation. This function also prevents over-cooling of your home throughout the night, meaning you needn’t worry about waking up to a cold home due to continuous operation of your air conditioner.

Design

Unfortunately, there are no disclosed decibel ratings for this product at the timer of this review. However, with a unit providing such a formidable amount of cooling power, you can expect this unit to make noise on its highest setting. However, with the amount of alterable modes on this device, if the unit is too loud you can simply lower the fan setting to a more tolerable noise level.

With a unit weight of 71lbs and a shipping weight of 88.2lbs, we recommend that anyone attempting to transport or lift this unit seek aid, as it is quite heavy.

A design aspect of this product that we particularly admired was its Eco-Design. In Midea’s own words, “Intelligent on-off technology [lowers] energy consumption from conventional 2W to 0.5W”. This eco-friendly design is a win-win, both better for the environment, and your wallet.

From an aesthetics perspective, the Midea AKPD14HR4 is a beautifully modern addition to Midea’s catalogue of home portable air conditioners. Soft white and silver tones over a bevelled-edge exterior make this unit easy on the eye, and capable of blending in with the décor of any contemporary living space. This saves you the effort of attempting to conceal your unit from view when you have visitors over, something that we can all appreciate.

Dimensions (Inches):

Height: 30.1″

Width: 18.4″

Depth: 15.6″

Help & Support

Should you encounter issues with your unit, Midea customer service representatives are contactable via telephone and email. However, if the idea speaking to a customer service agent is unappealing to you, Midea maintains an excellent FAQs section on their website, alongside downloadable user manuals, which have proven themselves to be incredibly useful in the case of you losing your physical copy.

Regrettably, no warranty information was available to us at the time of this review, thus we would strongly advise that potential buyers contact Midea with any questions regarding warranty policy before committing to a purchase.

Verdict

To sum up our review of the Midea AKPD14HR4, we believe this unit is a superb portable air conditioning unit. With sky-high BTU output for its class, and a range of convenient features, we would recommend any potential buyers on the market to lend Midea their consideration. The Midea AKPD14HR4’s sleek design and eco-friendly operation makes it a formidable contender in the portable AC market. Like all units, it does however have its drawbacks. A relatively low EER to name one such flaw, may be an issue if you intend to run this unit on a budget, however it must be emphasised that this unit comes with a range of functions that will minimise the cost of upkeep of this device. All in all, the Midea AKPD14HR4 has proven itself to be an excellent product, and a worthy addition to Midea’s growing catalogue of portable home air conditioning units.