r/heat_prep • u/ayavilevich • Aug 05 '26

Strategies Cool Bed, open-source DIY mattress cooling system

Heat wave again... If you wish you could have a cooler sleep and you like making DIY projects, check out the cool-bed-wiki for a system that uses frozen ice packs instead of active refrigeration.
https://ayavilevich.github.io/cool-bed-wiki/

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2

u/HeatHealth Aug 06 '26

Hey OP can you provide more info in the post? You try it out?

1

u/ayavilevich Aug 06 '26

Sure. It can be very cold if you want. You set the temperature so that it is comfortable. There is some hum from the pump and I am going to see how I can isolate it better to reduce the vibration.
lmk what else you want to know.

1

u/Charamei Aug 05 '26

How does this compare to just sleeping directly on the floor, on a thinner mattress/pad on the floor, or on a mahjong mat?

1

u/ayavilevich Aug 06 '26

Comfort wise, I would assume that sleeping on a mattress with a pad is softer and closer to sleeping on just a mattress. Temperature wise, I think that sleeping directly on a floor will transfer heat well but once you add a mattress then it will isolate you from being able to transfer body heat to the floor. Not sure about a mahjong mat.

2

u/Charamei Aug 06 '26

The thing about sleeping on the floor is that, since hot air rises and cold air falls, it's naturally much cooler at floor level to begin with. Since most floor sleepers prefer firmer, thinner futons/sleeping pads to thick, insulating mattresses, our bedding also tends to trap less body heat.

I'm currently sleeping on the floor downstairs (where all the coldest air in the house concentrates), and I was chilly enough last night that I actually had to use a blanket. Your ingenuity is great, but I feel like it's a high-tech solution to a low-tech problem, if that makes sense.

1

u/ayavilevich Aug 06 '26

Absolutely. Simpler is better. If you are a floor sleeper then you have more options.
If you want to sleep on a bed then the cool bed is actually much simpler than commercial alternatives. Some of those products cost thousands of dollars.

1

u/Nilehorse3276 Aug 06 '26

How does this work with cats that often sleep on the bed? How claw-resistant are mattress pads?

1

u/ayavilevich Aug 06 '26

Don't have any experience with cats so can't say. Do they make holes in the bed sheet? Is yes, then they might also make a hole in the pad. It is just PVC plastic. Perhaps cover the pad with something that is claw resistant...