Test Lab: I Tested a Bed Fan (& I’ll Never Spend a Hot Summer Night Without It)

If this test lab review of the BedJet had a CliffsNotes version, it would be: I liked it a lot and I didn’t lose any limbs. But for a more complete assessment, read on.

Once upon a time lived a born-and-bred Florida girl who was HOT. Not wanting to crank up her A/C in July (in South Florida) to an acceptable temperature at night (an action that would likely bankrupt her), she sought out alternative ways to stay cool while she slept. She turned her ceiling fan to high, but all that did was move around the warm air that she was trying to get away from to begin with. She changed up her bedding to include thinner cotton layers. She was still hot. Then, she had an idea: “What if there were a gadget that could turn your bed into a veritable air hockey table, where air blows up from your sheets to keep you cool?”

That girl who was hot all that time…that girl is me and that was my potentially genius invention. I thought I had cooked up an idea that would make me rich (rich enough to crank up my A/C all.summer.long!!!). Except, well, such a thing exists already, and it’s called a bed fan (and I tried one).

While doing a little research for my failed “no one has thought of this!” idea of air conditioned sheets, I stumbled upon a handful of manufacturers that sell these brilliant devices. Prices seemed to vary from around $80 to upwards of $400. I knew I had to try one and see if they were everything my cool-sleeping dreams were made of, so I reached out to BedJet—sellers of a cream of the crop $400 version—who sent me one to test. After a few days of eagerly awaiting my BedJet (and watching videos of how it worked to pass the time), that bad boy arrived and I prepared myself for a night of chilled slumber.

After promptly setting up the whole system (which took about five minutes after unboxing and pulling plastic sleeves from everything), the first thing I took note of was its size. I realized this did not fit under my bed (the instructions state it should go under your bed if possible; if not, the company sells something to stand it up vertically). My bed frame is quite low to the ground and only has about three or four inches of clearance, so I was less than excited to have a machine the size of a printer/scanner/copier propped up against my footboard. It was a bit more cumbersome than I had expected, but nevertheless, I was eager to give this thing a whirl.

I had the option of operating the BedJet with the provided remote or via their smartphone app; since I didn’t feel like downloading anything at the moment, I went with the remote, which was easy to operate and worked just fine. One click of the “cool” button and off it went! Cool air, here I come!

It took a few seconds for the machine to ramp up, but in a matter of moments, I could feel cool air — it uses the ambient air, which should be below 79 degrees ideally — rushing past my feet, lifting the comforter up as if it were an air mattress being filled. The first thing I thought as my duvet rose up, up, up was “I can’t see the TV!” but once I lowered the power, everything settled and it was quite…delightful. My significant other (who is always chilly and doesn’t suffer from swamp fever as I do) wouldn’t stop complaining about how cold he was, so I lowered the speed of the fan even more (so much so that he said “wait, I can’t feel it anymore.” (men, #amiright?) A few clicks up, and we found our happy medium.

I was a little concerned about letting this thing run all night. What if it malfunctioned in my sleep? Would it set fire to my bed? Would it reverse its air flow and suck my toes into its tubing, leaving me dismembered (but cool!)? I really wasn’t sure, but I felt so nice and chilled for the first time since April that I stopped worrying just enough to fall into a deep non-sweaty sleep (after setting the auto-off timer…just in case).

The next morning, I assessed the situation. All my limbs and appendages were intact, my bed had not caught fire, and I woke up refreshed. Not once did I have to throw my sheets off of my body in a mid-sleep stupor of heat. In fact, I was kind of cold, and I was thankful for it.

In conclusion: The BedJet (and I’m guessing other devices like it—see list below) is a fantastic option for those, like me, who live in a perpetually hot climate and want to save some money on electricity by keeping their A/Cs at a manageable temp. It’s certainly not inexpensive, but over time the investment should pay off. The BedJet in particular also has the great feature of providing warm air, to heat up chilly feet and bodies in the winter time (something I myself never have to worry about, but I’d imagine those north of the Mason-Dixon line would seriously appreciate that feature come November). Though the machine is not the most attractive decor addition my bedroom has seen in its time, the bed fan does exactly what it advertises: helps me to sleep cool and comfortably.

• V2 Climate Comfort System Single Zone at BedJet, $369 (on sale)
• The Bedfan 1.5-A at The Bedfan, $84.95
• Bed Fan with Wireless Remote at Brookstone, $99.99
• bFan at Indiegogo, $150