An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a device that delivers an electrical shock to a victim in cardiac arrest. Public AEDs are becoming increasingly common, and many public buildings and workplaces now have an AED available.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends people who might be using an AED are appropriately trained in using the AED and performing CPR.

AED training units are ‘dummy’ AEDs that don’t deliver an electrical shock. They can be used when running AED and CPR classes and mimic using a defibrillator for real. As they are only training devices, AED training units are much cheaper than ‘live’ AEDs.

Choosing an AED Training Unit

Ideally, the AED trainer should match the live AED that rescuers may be using. Each model of AED is slightly different, so rescuers need to become familiar with how to setup and use the AED.

Generic AED training units can be used to teacher rescuers the principles behind using an AED, however, these generic training units won’t allow rescuers to practice with the device they might be using for real.

Cheap AED Training Units

Here are the cheapest AED training units we’ve found on the market:

Our favorite budget AED training unit is the American Red Cross AED trainer. This device is light, portable and affordable. Our team uses this unit when delivering our own CPR and AED classes and we’ve found it to be very reliable.