Midea unveils its first window heat pump

A year after Gradient, Chinese home-appliance heavyweight Midea is putting its first window heat pump on the market. With an installation time of under an hour, this option-positioned as an alternative to electric radiators and oil/gas heating-is proving popular in North America, where many buildings are well suited to window-mounted systems.

Midea’s first window heat pump: from Queens trials to extreme cold

After years of development and full-scale testing in social housing in Queens, New York, Midea is releasing its first window heat pump. Designed specifically for the United States through its subsidiary Midea America (which operates like a start-up), the unit aims to outdo existing market offerings that are more limited in performance and operating conditions. According to Midea, the window heat pump can still heat effectively in extreme cold, down to – 22 degrees.

To deliver that cold-weather performance, Midea is relying on a more powerful compressor developed in-house.

Installation, control and comfort in everyday use

Like its major US rival Gradient, Midea is banking on a heating system that is neat-looking, straightforward to fit, and not overly bulky. A Fast Company journalist installed the window heat pump at home to try it out, reporting that the set-up took less than an hour-whereas a wall-mounted unit would take a day and require professional installation (including drilling into walls).

For efficient heating while keeping energy use in check, the same compressor is connected to an outdoor temperature-sensing system so it can adjust output. “Older compressors were either on or off,” explained Brian Langness, a project lead at the Midea America research centre, quoted by Fast Company. The window heat pump is not intended to heat multiple rooms, but it can warm a space more effectively than a portable electric heater while using less energy.

In the journalist’s view, the heat delivered by the unit also felt more even than that from her gas boiler. She wrote: “when I turned the heating up with an outdoor temperature of around -7 °C, the room quickly became nicely warm, more comfortable than the rest of the house”. She did, however, criticise the amount of space it takes up-similar to a conventional radiator-which may explain why some homeowners prefer wall-mounted solutions that better suit certain rooms.

The Midea window heat pump at a glance:

• Heating capacity: 9 000 BTU/h (2,6 kW) at 8,3 degrees outdoors
• “Plug-and-play” installation in 1 hour
• Operation down to – 25 degrees (capacity reduced to 5 050 BTU/h)
• Noise level: high at ~ 51 dB(A), low at ~ 43 dB(A), quiet mode at ~ 29 dB(A)
• Weight: 59 kg
• Power: electric at 115 V
• Price at end of 2025: 2 800 to 3 000 dollars

Who is the window heat pump for?

For now, the window heat pump is essentially a US-only topic, because existing products are designed around window styles that are very common in North America but much rarer in France. With the market still in its early stages, versions better suited to our region could arrive later, though it is clear that English-speaking markets such as Canada and the United Kingdom are likely to be addressed first.

Midea has started producing its first window heat pump, but its main objective is to sign deals with professionals rather than private buyers. The brand is targeting distributors and property developers directly-specifically those that own residential buildings. Fast Company noted that Midea America is already in talks with several housing authorities, including in Boston, about pilot projects inspired by the New York programme. Another pilot is about to begin in Canada.

Each Midea window heat pump costs 2 800 or 3 000 dollars, which remains expensive for individual households compared with more affordable heating options. However, Midea is a major Chinese appliance group that typically targets the mid-range rather than the premium segment. According to its product lead, Brian Langness, the price should fall as production scales up. Even if the US federal tax credit is due to disappear at the end of the year, local incentive schemes-such as New York State’s Clean Heat programme-should help reduce the overall bill.