Quiet and powerful cooling with the Midea U-shaped air conditioner

U-Shaped Air Conditioners a gimmick or worth it?

As one of those people who unfortunately was not blessed with central air, I have had to resort to the infamous window air conditioners A.K.A the “window shakers”. Throughout the years and many heat waves later, I’ve fallen for all the best air conditioning advertising. I’ve had the full spread ranging from the “best” window air conditioners to the portable air conditioners. These claims of being the best were specific to the year and the trending utility at that time. Advertisements pushing the new hot topics such as portability, compact or low energy, to name a few, yet I always found myself full of disappointment. Once the realization that the window air conditioner can only get so good, it was time to queue in the creation of the portable air conditioner. That one perked my interest, the thought of moving it around my apartment and cooling the spaces as I desired seemed like a world of endless possibilities. However, the best portable air conditioners ended up causing both heating and cooling simultaneously as a result of the exhaust tube leaking heat back into the house, or simply the fact that the entire cooling unit sat in the room. It became a cycle of year after year I found myself ordering or fixing the attachment at the end of the hose which adheres it to the unit or out the window.

Then on the flip side you had the option of the window air conditioners which make excessive noise or leak water back in from a lack of provided installation material. The noise was becoming another thing I found myself having to live with during the summer months, a constant fluctuation of decibels, drowning out conversations, TV, music or anything else. It wasn’t until this year that I stumbled across the U-shaped air conditioner pioneered by Midea, perhaps history would no longer repeat itself and it was time for a change!

Like every other year, I threw myself at the thought of beating this cooling dilemma however, this time I most definitely proceeded with caution. Was I really going to like it? Or is it just another gimmick? I took to the internet to do some research and I found myself confident to take the leap and buy this U-shaped a/c. So, for all you other “window shaker” sufferers out there here is my review of the quiet and powerful cooling power of the Midea U-shaped air conditioner.

Let’s start by painting a picture of my summer living conditions; a 120-year-old apartment on the top floor with large windows which get the full wrath of the sun all day. The apartment will easily reach 40+°C if left without my tireless intervention. The ceilings are 8 feet 7” tall, creating the need for a lot of cool air.

Could the Midea U-shaped a/c conquer this climate? Well, the answer is yes!

It is true that this unit is quieter than both a portable and window air conditioner, it actually verges on unbelievable, one of those things you have to experience. I found myself beyond shocked when I turned it on, dropped it to its lowest temperature, 16°C, and blasted the fan on the highest setting, and the noise was so subtle. This U-shaped air conditioner puts out the following decibels (Db) on the coolest setting of 16°C: with the lowest fan it emits 39 Db, at the medium fan setting it emits 43.2 Db and at the highest fan setting it emits 45.1 Db. In comparison to my Frigidaire window air conditioner, that only has two fan settings, and emits 47.2 Db on the lowest fan and 54.3 Db on the highest fan it is a big difference. On the highest fan setting the Midea produces less noise than the lowest fan setting on the other more common window air conditioner.

The noise output is also consistent, unlike its predecessor this unit doesn’t fluctuate in decibels, making it the true definition of white noise. All the noise is happening on the other side of the window, outside of your room. For any of you out there without a guillotine window, don’t worry, read my blog here to install any air conditioning unit in most window types.

The unit packs a nice 10,000 BTU meaning that the unit will absorb 10,000 British thermal units of heat from your environment. Of course, you can find units with more BTU however the noise reductions of this unit outweighs the need for more BTUs. It is able to easily cool my room of around 220 square feet, and with the placement of a fan the cool air moves out to cool the second living space. It can turn the 220 square foot room temperature from 26°C to 22°C in approximately an hour and 20 minutes. If you are curious about the energy requirements, then it is worth noting it utilizes 115V 60Hz and 9.97 AMPS.

It came with a nice assortment of usable items like insulating foam, sticky foam, a window bracket and a remote control, to name a few. The window bracket is an amazing addition and a necessity since this unit is longer than your generic window a/c, measuring 22” long. The U in the center causes the unit to be longer and therefore it needs the additional bracket for support. The other dimensions are not too far off from the other units, measuring 20” wide and 13.5” tall. It also has the function for smart controls using google or Alexa, however, it lacks this functionality for Apple devices.

The only negative I have regarding this unit was that the installation took slightly longer and was more elaborate. Leveling the bracket took a bit of time, and the installation of a few screws to hold the unit to the bracket increased the overall install time marginally. However, I would spend that time repeatedly to reap the massive benefits this unit offers. This unit offers cooling power with peace and quiet, I think I may have finally found the “window shaker” of my dreams.

The Pros	The Cons
Much quieter (max. 45.1 db)	Slightly longer installation
Uniform noise distribution (white noise)	Longer than other units (22”)
Cools efficiently	No smart controls for Apple home
Cools a space of 220 square feet easily
Aesthetically pleasing
Option for smart controls