Europe hit by the most severe heatwave in history, air conditioners are selling out, Midea PortaSlit “second-hand prices exceed new ones”

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The most severe heatwave in European history is triggering a frenzy of air conditioner purchases.

On June 27, eastern Germany recorded 41.5°C, breaking the highest temperature record for the second day in a row since the start of its meteorological history. On the same day, the Czech Republic recorded 40.6°C, also setting a new national record.

Under the dual assault of the "heat dome" effect and the global climate crisis, Europe is experiencing the most brutal summer since meteorological records began. Over 100 million Europeans are enduring temperatures above 35°C. In France, the number of deaths from drowning while seeking to cool off has surged to 55; multiple countries have closed schools, hospitals are overloaded, and numerous train and flight cancellations have occurred.

Against this backdrop, household air conditioners—a category long viewed by Europeans as a "non-essential"—are being snapped up at unprecedented rates. Orders for Asian manufacturers such as Samsung, Midea, and Mitsubishi Electric have soared.

Specifically, Midea’s PortaSplit portable split air conditioner, designed for Europe, has sold out in multiple countries, with secondary market markups reaching two to three times the original price.

"Existing infrastructure is built for a climate that no longer exists"

European building design has long centered on winter insulation—thick walls, high sealability, and maximizing sunlight. In sustained heat, these strengths become "heat-retention traps."

Previously, the UK Climate Change Committee summed up Europe’s plight in a single sentence: "The existing infrastructure was built for a climate that no longer exists."

French housing minister Jean Brun stated bluntly that a third of all homes in France are “like thermos flasks.” Nearly 80% of apartments in Paris have zinc roofs, turning homes into ovens in summer. In Germany, summer daylight lasts 15 to 16 hours; buildings trap heat during the day, slowly release it at night, then accumulate more the next day. At the recently concluded largest new energy exhibition in Europe in Munich, the massive venue wasn’t even equipped with air conditioning; over 100,000 visitors could only fan themselves with brochures. While future energy solutions integrating solar, storage, and charging were on display, the crowd was resorting to the most basic cooling method, presenting a stark contrast.

In Europe, installing air conditioning is another insurmountable hurdle. Older buildings lack pre-installed piping, and strict historic preservation laws tightly restrict alterations to building exteriors, causing installation fees for a traditional split AC to often exceed 1,000 euros. Additionally, the cost of use is prohibitive. In Berlin, for example, electricity is about €0.40/kWh; running an AC for 8 hours a day can boost a monthly bill by €100 to €150. Mild summers in the past had made “no AC” the architectural norm and a social consensus, but now, climate reality has completely changed.

Analysis from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group shows the Earth has warmed 1.1°C in the past 50 years. The same magnitude heatwave in 2003 would be 2°C cooler than now, and in 1976 would be 3.5°C cooler. The probability of unbearably hot nights is now about 100 times what it was in 2003. Even more dangerous is the combination of heat and humidity: in 45% of Europe’s 850 cities with populations over 50,000, people are experiencing the worst hot and humid conditions on record, rendering human sweat-based cooling mechanisms ineffective. The World Meteorological Organization notes that Europe’s warming rate is more than double the global average.

Soaring orders, rising stock prices

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the penetration rate of household ACs in Europe is only about 20%, far lower than nearly 90% in the United States. Penetration is about 50% in Italy, 40% in Spain, and lower still in much of northwestern Europe. But change is accelerating: in Germany, air conditioning ownership grew by 6 percentage points between 2023 and 2024. Research from Oxford and Bristol universities points out that of the 10 countries globally with the fastest increase in “cooling degree days,” eight are in northwestern Europe, including Switzerland, the UK, and Norway.

This wave of extreme heat has directly pushed market demand to new heights. Samsung Electronics says it achieved double-digit growth in major markets such as Italy, Spain, and France in the first half of 2026 and "expects demand to last throughout the cooling season." Midea reports online sales in Germany in May surged 37% year-on-year, with shipments in Spain and France soaring 108%. Mitsubishi Electric also reported demand surges in France, Spain, the UK, and Germany. LG Electronics revealed that its AC production lines in Korea have been running at full capacity since April. The IEA’s energy efficiency director, Matherway, described the typical European scenario for buying portable ACs as "panic buying during scorching weekends"—people grab the first machine in-store and wind up using it for a decade.

The capital markets quickly priced in this trend. On June 25, Milan-listed temperature control company Ariston rose 2.3%, French building materials giant Saint-Gobain rose 2.2%, Swedish heat pump maker NIBE rose 0.7%, and global refrigeration wholesaler Beijer Ref rose 1.3%, all extending gains from the previous session.

Meanwhile, the surging cooling demand is putting enormous pressure on Europe’s power grids. During the heatwave, tens of thousands of households in France lost electricity, and some nuclear plants were forced to reduce output due to high temperatures. In the UK, the grid operator urgently spent about $13 million to secure additional power supply. The UK Climate Change Committee has recommended all hospitals achieve safe temperature control by 2035, all senior care facilities by 2040, and all schools and prisons by 2050. Clearly, Europe’s “make-up lesson” on cooling infrastructure will take decades to complete.

Phenomenal Bestseller: Midea PortaSplit—An AC that "Exploits Regulation Loopholes"

In this buying frenzy, Midea’s PortaSplit is undoubtedly the most talked-about product.

Its price isn’t cheap—€900 (about 6,000 RMB) for the cooling-only version, €1,200 (about 9,000 RMB) for the heat/cool version—but it precisely addresses a core pain point that has troubled Europeans for decades: how to install a genuine AC at home without drilling, breaking the law, or hiring expensive workers.

Previously, Europeans could mostly buy bulky, inefficient portable ACs. These usually require a thick exhaust hose out the window, leaving the window ajar and causing hot air to come directly back in. For a high-efficiency split AC, one must face a web of regulations in different countries: in Spain, outdoor units are seen as façade modifications and need a 3/5 owner vote; in Italy, units must be installed by licensed professionals, with illegal installation fined up to €100,000; in France, equipment using over 2 kg of refrigerant must be inspected by professionals; in Germany, nighttime noise must not exceed 35 dB; in Switzerland, the energy efficiency rating cannot be below A++.

In the face of these barriers, PortaSplit almost "walks the line" on every rule. Its outdoor unit is secured by a window bracket, requires no tools or drilling, and is legally defined as an “internal appliance placed on a rack,” neatly skirting façade modification bans. Its refrigerant capacity is exactly 1.99 kg—just below France’s 2 kg limit; in silent mode, noise is 35 dB, right at Germany’s standard; the SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) reaches 6.1—the lower threshold for Switzerland’s A++ (6.1–8.5) rating. On the Chinese-language internet, this product has been jokingly described as "exploiting bugs," with users quipping, "Midea’s export, legal, and design teams all deserve year-end bonuses."

Back to the product itself, PortaSplit maintains the core advantage of split ACs having an outdoor compressor: much better indoor noise control and efficiency compared to traditional portable units. It also utilizes air-source heat pump technology, usable as heating in winter—hailed as the industry’s first "DIY heat pump."

The product launched first in Germany, sold out for two summers in a row, and quickly expanded to France, Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary, and many Nordic countries. In 2025, PortaSplit was named to TIME’s “Best Inventions in the World” list. As the award text put it: in countries where installation fees can run into thousands of euros, it offers a “cheap and quiet alternative,” making air conditioning across the Atlantic “no longer a crazy idea.”

On overseas social media, users marvel that “this is the best investment of my life”; some post their electricity bills—over 200 hours of use, with the bill under 30 euros. Others have made memes widely shared online, with just one line: “Why haven’t you bought a Midea AC yet?”

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