Millions of Americans are currently dealing with a heat wave across the US, so staying cool is important. There are many ways to deal with the scorching heat, and the good news is that quite a few of the tools that can help are on sale for Prime Day. These range from the obvious Prime Day air conditioner and tower fan deals, but you can also find discounted cooling sheets and even a mattress that can help transfer your body heat during the night for better sleep if you are in fact sleeping and not obsessively tracking our Prime Day liveblog.
We test products year-round and handpicked these deals. We’ll update this guide periodically throughout the sale event.
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Cooling Deals
I reviewed Midea’s innovative U-shaped air conditioner in 2020 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), and it remains one of my favorites though I now have central air. The key is in the name—there’s a U-shaped gap that separates the compressor from the front of the AC unit. (This spawned many copycats, and almost every major AC manufacturer now has a U-shaped unit in its roster.) The benefit is it allows you to close your window with much less of a gap than most traditional window ACs, enabling better soundproofing and energy savings. Midea also includes a lot of padding to cover up the remaining gaps. It’s fairly quiet, cools a room quickly, and even supports Wi-Fi connectivity so you can connect it to assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant and turn the AC on remotely before you arrive home.
This is a small discount, but there’s a better deal on the 12,000-BTU model, which you can snag for $402 ($57 off), but you have to click the on-page coupon to see the full discount at checkout. If you have a larger space that needs air conditioning, this model will be more effective for not much more. You can learn more about what BTU means and what to look for when shopping for an AC in my guide to the Best Window Air Conditioners.
Use code WINDMILLDAY at checkout to take 15 percent off your order. If you don’t need an AC’s mechanical drone to help put you to sleep, then you probably want a very quiet machine. Windmill’s ACs are super easy to install and come with WhisperTech, making them some of the quietest window ACs we’ve ever tested. It also has a spot for an activated carbon filter to clean the air that seeps in. There’s voice assistant support to control it remotely, and scheduling options via the app. Uniquely, you can sign up for the company’s Eco Rewards program, and this gives Windmill control over your unit to adjust settings to alleviate stress on the power grid during heat waves. (You’ll be notified when settings are about to change.) What do you get in return? An annual pack of activated carbon filters, a $20 Windmill gift card, or $10 in cash.
If your budget’s tight, check out this GE model, though the discount isn’t anything to write home about. It’s easy to install, but has a lower BTU rating compared to the two models above, so it’s best for smaller spaces up to 250 square feet. It’s louder, hitting around 65 decibels, and will take longer to cool your room. It’s also worth noting that since this unit has a lower CEER rating than the models above, you may spend more on your electricity bill in the long run, so it might be worth shelling out a bit more upfront for a more efficient AC.
Sure, there are less expensive, similar-looking table fans on the market, but Vornados are popular for a reason. Out of the company’s lineup, it’s hard to beat the 660 air circulator and its Alexa-enabled smart sibling, the 660AE. The slightly larger, more powerful version of Vornado’s popular 630 (which WIRED editor Julian Chokkattu owns and likes), the 660 pulls a respectable 1,638 CFM (cubic feet of air per minute) in a compact, 15-inch-tall plastic body. The 660 may not be the most stylish fan on the market, or feature many—if any—bells and whistles, but given Vornado’s proprietary vortex action and generous five-year warranty, it’s undoubtedly a solid buy on sale, especially when you’ve had it with the cheaper fans. My household keeps a 660AE at the bottom of our stairs to push air conditioning up to the second floor, an action few other fans have accomplished as effectively. —Kat Merck
Like its competitor, the Dyson Cool Gen1 featured in our Best Air Purifiers guide, the Dreo Air Purifier Tower Fan offers 99.97 percent HEPA filtration and an air quality sensor. It also has control capability through a remote, the Dreo app, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa. It’s the fan I use in my 11-year-old’s bedroom due to its unusually low noise level (25 decibels) when only the fan is engaged. The 12-month warranty isn’t as great, but at $200+ less than the Dyson, it’s worth a look. —Kat Merck
If you already have mechanical ways to cool your home, but you still tend to sleep hot, then try swapping your bedding. These percale sheets featured in our Best Cooling Sheets guide have excellent breathability, allowing your body heat to escape from the covers to help lower your body temperature. They’re lightweight and crisp, and WIRED reviewer Nena Farrell says they don’t feel scratchy. She said she had one of her coolest nights of sleep with these sheets.
Did you know certain mattresses have cooling properties too? We have a whole guide to the Best Cooling Mattresses, and our top soft option is seeing a nice sale on Amazon and on Nectar’s website. The Nectar Sleep Premier Copper is 14 inches thick and has a gel memory foam top layer that’s quite soft. If you prefer a medium firm feel, I’d skip this bed, but if you like to sink into your bed, then you’ll like it. The infused copper fibers in the mattress and the “ActiveCool HD-infused phase change material” help wick away body heat, bringing you that sweet cooling bliss.
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