Midea PortaSplit 12,000 BTU
The first portable unit that works like a small split: the compressor hangs outside, the window still closes, and nothing is drilled.
| Cooling power | 3.5 kW (12,000 BTU) |
|---|---|
| Room size | up to about 42 m² with normal ceilings and decent shading |
| Energy class | A++ split SEER scale |
| Noise | 39 dB(A) manufacturer figure; quietest advertised mode |
| Refrigerant | R290 propane, GWP 3 |
| Layout | Mobile split |
| Price | from about €800 indicative; moves with the season |
Venting and windows
No hose and no drilling: the indoor and outdoor units connect through a flat line about 2.7 cm thick, and the window or balcony door closes onto it. That makes this layout the easiest fit for tilt-and-turn windows, fixed glazing next to an opening, and rentals where nothing may be drilled.
Tilt-and-turn venting guide · Mobile splits compared
What stands out
- Stiftung Warentest tested it as their first mobile split, and it beat every single-hose monobloc on cooling, efficiency and noise
- A++ cooling (SEER 6.1) with a 39 dB(A) silent mode; the noisy compressor sits outside on a small module
- No-drill install with a flat 2.7 cm line through the window, and it heats as well as cools
What the testers found
Stiftung Warentest put the PortaSplit through its programme in issue 06/2025 as the first mobile split it had tested. The overall grade was befriedigend (3.3) with a 2.2 for handling, and the magazine measured the silent mode at 39 dB(A). Its standing criticism of single-hose monoblocs, that warm outside air leaks back in through the window gap, does not apply here because the hot side of the machine sits outdoors and the window closes onto a flat 2.7 cm line.
TIME listed the PortaSplit among its Best Inventions of 2025. There is still no English-language lab review of it from Wirecutter, RTINGS or Which?, which is part of why this page exists.
Price and the buying window
In June 2026 the heat-pump PortaSplit listed from €799.99 across about 30 offers on Geizhals, and the cooling-only PortaSplit Cool from €699. Lidl runs the Cool at €599 from 15 June 2026.
Availability is the real constraint: homeandsmart documented the unit selling out for weeks at a time during the 2025 heat phases. The practical advice is to buy before the first long heatwave, not during it.
The 2026 line-up
Midea now sells three variants. The original PortaSplit cools and heats at 12,000 BTU (3.5 kW) for rooms to about 42 m². The PortaSplit Cool drops the heating, runs 8,000 BTU (2.35 kW) for rooms to about 28 m², and costs around €300 less. The PortaSplit-E joins the range in 2026 as the successor to the heat-pump model and shares the split layout; check its EU label sheet at the retailer for exact numbers.
Limits
The outdoor module needs somewhere to hang: a balcony railing, a bracket, or a flat ledge. You also store two boxes in winter instead of one, and the connection line needs a window or door that closes onto it. The 39 dB(A) silent-mode figure is for the indoor unit; the compressor noise moves outside rather than disappearing, which matters if a neighbour's bedroom window sits next to your balcony.
Sources
Where it is sold
MediaMarkt · Saturn · Amazon.de · Midea store · widely stocked in season. Not a live stock feed; prices move with the season.
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