Guides
Air conditioner guides: buying advice & know-how
Buying criteria, technology and legal matters around air conditioners – explained factually, with matching models and current prices from our comparison.
All guides
- Guide · 6 min readBuying a portable air conditioner: PortaSplit, monoblock or split system?You want to cool your home but are not sure which air conditioner is right? We compare the three common types – mobile splits such as the Midea PortaSplit, classic monoblock units and permanently installed split systems – so you can find the right one for your flat.Updated 28/09/2026
- Guide · 6 min readAir conditioner running costs: calculation, examples, saving tips“Air conditioners are power guzzlers” – is that true? We do the maths: what a 12,000 BTU unit draws per hour, what a summer costs and where you can save the most. You will find the calculator for your room on our home page.Updated 28/09/2026
- Guide · 6 min readMake your PortaSplit quieter: damping casing rattleOn many units the plastic casing rattles or vibrates – especially when the compressor in the indoor unit starts up. A tip first (without voiding the warranty): activate the “Quieter outdoor unit” mode in the ClimaPilot app. If that is not enough, a little butyl-aluminium damping mat reduces the rattling considerably: the self-adhesive mat weighs down the thin casing panels, absorbs vibrations and makes the unit run noticeably more smoothly.Updated 28/09/2026
- Guide · 6 min readMidea PortaSplit: fixing common faults and problemsWe know P1 by heart. The PortaSplit is a good unit with a few known quirks – most of them can be fixed in five minutes without tools. Here are the faults that we and our readers come across most often, with what actually helped.Updated 28/09/2026
- Guide · 6 min readPortaSplit 2027: what the R290 successor changesMidea has announced the next PortaSplit generation: R290 refrigerant instead of R32, redesigned condensate drainage and a new outdoor unit. The European launch is planned for the second or third quarter of 2027. Here is what that means if you are buying today.Updated 28/09/2026
- Guide · 6 min readAir conditioning in a rented flat: what is allowed – and what isn'tThe most common question in our inbox: “Am I even allowed to do this?” Usually yes – but not for everything. What you can set up as a tenant in Germany without asking, where your landlord has a say, and how to avoid trouble with the neighbours.Updated 28/09/2026
Popular comparisons
- Mobile split ACs4 models · from €890An indoor and an outdoor unit, linked by a flat refrigerant hose that runs through the gap of a tilted window: mobile split units cool more quietly and efficiently than a monoblock – with no hole in the wall. Here you will find prices and the key differences.
- Monoblock ACs104 models · from €153Unpack, put the hose in the window, switch on: monoblock air conditioners are the simplest and cheapest way to cool a room. We show current prices and explain where their limits are.
- 12,000 BTU (3.5 kW)76 models · from €33512,000 BTU – around 3.5 kW of cooling – is the most popular class of portable air conditioner: enough for a living room, yet still fine on a normal wall socket. Compare every model in this capacity class here.
- 7,000–9,000 BTU (small)76 models · from €195For bedrooms, children's rooms and offices up to about 25 m², a compact unit with 2.0 to 2.6 kW of cooling is enough – lighter, quieter and cheaper to run than the larger class.
- Quiet air conditioners11 models · from €287Our first PortaSplit stood in the bedroom – and taught us that 39 dB on the spec sheet and a compressor starting up at three in the morning are two different things. What dB figures are worth, which design is genuinely quiet, and which models have a night mode worthy of the name.
- Cooling & heating76 models · from €329An air conditioner that also heats works as a small heat pump – and often delivers three times as much heat per kilowatt hour of electricity. Compare 4-in-1 units that cool in summer and heat in spring and autumn.