expired Posted by swechsler • Dec 27, 2021
Dec 27, 2021 11:55 AM
Item 1 of 6
Item 1 of 6
expired Posted by swechsler • Dec 27, 2021
Dec 27, 2021 11:55 AM
Midea 8,000 BTU U-Shaped Inverter Window Air Conditioner
+ Free Shipping$251
$358
29% offHome Depot
Visit Home DepotGood Deal
Bad Deal
Save
Share
Leave a Comment
Top Comments
It has a lot of fancy features. but one HUGE flaw.
The inverter is run with some algorithm that decides how much compressor to run based on what it thinks you need. So if its moderately warm outside and you set it to 60, it may only run the compressor at 30% capacity, even when set to high, so you will only get the equivalent of a 5k BTU unit. In addition, this software does not allow the compressor to run at max power when the fan is set to low. So if you want a low fan speed, you will not get ice cold air. Using my kill-a-watt meter on my 12k BTU unit, the most I ever saw it draw was around 650 watts. For example, there are some days where its in the low 70's outside, but the room gets over 80 because of the sun. The unit tests the outside temp and decides that it only needs to run the compressor at 25%, so the air coming out is never ice cold and the room struggles the cool. There is a temperature sensor on the inside coil to sample the inside air but it seems to pick up the old air from the unit itself so it simply does not know that the room is 80 and it needs to power up. I tested it out by point a hair air dryer at the temp sensor and the compressor ramped up, my killawatt showed it pulling 1100 watts and the air coming out was much colder.
The inverter claims to save money and be quiet. That is true, however you lose a lot of control. With a standard AC unit, you can turn it on and know that your 12k BTU unit is giving you 12k BTU of cold air. You will almost never achieve that with this unit.
Here is a reddit thread with similar complains and testimonials regarding the 12k unit never pulling more than 500 watts
https://www.reddit.com/r/AirCondi...t_co
Comment:
Update: Consumption seems to vary significantly based on the fan speed. If I drop the fan speed to 20% then consumption drops to about 250 watts. Faster fan speeds cause increasing power usage, eventually reaching 760+ watts at 100% fan speed. I swear I tried both auto and 100% fan speeds yesterday and couldn't get it to consumer more than 500 watts. You should definitely try playing around with the fan speeds in the phone app and see if you can get it working better. (though it's obviously not so quiet when the fan is maxed out)
Comment:
Update 2: The outdoor temp has dropped to 83 degrees (was 93 degrees earlier) and consumption is back down to 500 watts. The inside temp is 69 degrees (same as earlier) and I have the AC temp set to 60 degrees. Maybe it's using a formula to set the maximum compressor speed based on the difference between the outdoor temp and the indoor temp (or maybe the outdoor temp and the set point) and you have no way to override it, unlike on a traditional AC where you just adjust the set point to the lowest possible temperature and it'll just run the compressor continuously.
Comment:
92 degrees out right now and consumption has increased to 900 watts. It's blowing 41 degree air and the inside temp is holding steady at 68 degrees. The set temp is 60 degrees. It seems the Midea U pays a lot more attention to the outdoor temperature than it does to the set point
Looks like this is a price match of this Home Depot special buy, good for the next 7 days: https://www.homedepot.c
Another option!
I think Home Depot's return policy is 90 days vs Amazon for this says "returnable until January 31st". Also could be beneficial to pick up in store because of the risk of damage during residential shipment.
edit: looks like Home Depot may be backing out of this price? Some people are seeing full price so YMMV.
221 Comments
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank darkNiGHTS
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08677DCKN
Last November this made frontpage at $270.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank BlackBeardPirate
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank danomoseley
Looks like this is a price match of this Home Depot special buy, good for the next 7 days: https://www.homedepot.c
Another option!
I think Home Depot's return policy is 90 days vs Amazon for this says "returnable until January 31st". Also could be beneficial to pick up in store because of the risk of damage during residential shipment.
edit: looks like Home Depot may be backing out of this price? Some people are seeing full price so YMMV.
I'd like to know what the sound levels are like about 2-3 feet away from the unit?
Another option!
I think Home Depot's return policy is 90 days vs Amazon for this says "returnable until January 31st". Also could be beneficial to pick up in store because of the risk of damage during residential shipment.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank swechsler
I'd like to know what the sound levels are like about 2-3 feet away from the unit?
Love it. Super quiet and draws between 99 and 300w 95% of the time so room temp stays even. It cycles less than regular ac
Very quiet window is approx hip level and 1ft above bed. 2-3ft from head
Occasionally it will rumble the wall with a resonant frequency. But still super quiet.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
That said - it has the worst packaging ever and every one I've ordered from amazon has come with cosmetic damage that either involved popping plastic back together or bending metal back. No actual AC damage - just bumps from shipping. These are often on amazon warehouse for $50 lately - which is a steal even with a few dents.
Leave a Comment