Ooler Temperature Controlled Sleep System REVIEW Take Back Your Night | Mac Sources10
Do not just settle for okay sleep because the struggle is real! Optimize your sleep instead.
With enough to worry about during the day, stop fearing great sleep each night. It seems that most couples fight over poor communication, money management, parenting skills, plans, etc. Despite this knowledge, we enter into relationships unaware of the lurking dangers in our beds. How many of you have a partner with ice feet? Invariably, I find an incredibly comfortable position only to be awoken by stabbing arctic talons. My wife has to know what she is doing, and I think she hums the Jaws theme as she seeks and steals my warmth. In addition to the story above, many struggle with temperature regulation and enter into a blanket tug-of-war.
How many of you turn your pillow over to enjoy the cool side? What if you could enjoy a perpetual “cool side of the pillow experience?” The Ooler Sleep system is made up of five components: the control unit, the hydro layer/mattress cover, the power cord, the drain key, and the Application. To start, navigate to ooler.co or chilitechnology.com to learn about the system or turn to the setup section on page ten within the included instruction manual. The hydro layer/mattress cover arrived rolled inside of a travel bag. To start, unroll the cover and place it upon your mattress, silver side down. It did not matter if you placed the connection tube toward the head or the foot of the bed. Each of the corners had an elastic retention strap, which worked well for two of the corners of my king sized mattress. With the mattress installed, drape the fitted sheet over the mattress cover, place the control unit on the floor and then plug the 85 inches long mattress cover connection tube into the control unit. I was pleased to find that the connection provided an audible and tactile click. Insert the plug of the 77 inches long power cable into the control unit and then the Type B wall prong into the wall. The manual recommended checking the area around the control unit to make sure that there was adequate ventilation. With the installation complete, I needed to add water to the control unit. Unfortunately, the setup required distilled water, which I did not have at home. I purchased two gallons of distilled water from the local Grocery store for 95 cents per gallon.
To access the water chamber, I needed to unscrew the lock nut on the top of the 14.5 inches wide by 10 inches wide by 5 7/8 inches tall control unit. I poured about a quarter gallon of distilled water into the chamber, pressed the power button adjacent to the LCD Screen and waited for the water to distribute within the Ooler pad. I then added roughly another quarter gallon of distilled water into the system and closed the water chamber. The entire setup process and water input took roughly five minutes. With the unit set up and ready to use, I navigated to the iOS App Store to download the App. Unfortunately, it was not yet available. I downloaded TestFlight and then the Ooler App. I navigated through the initial introductory screens, allowed the TestFlight App to send me notifications, and then registered for the Ooler Cloud. The App promised the option to “Control your sleep temperature” with “any temperature, any time, all night.” It also detailed the ability set customizable sleep schedules based on your sleep data and reports. You can adjust the temperature up or down, depending on the ambient temperatures and individual preferences. Perhaps you do not want the shock of a cold surface when getting into the bed. You can use the app to preheat the surface and then gradually cool the bed throughout the night to enhance deeper sleep. After the introductory panels, the App walked me through the same steps as the instruction manual and website. I loved the number-by-number instructions, the diagrams, and the easy to follow instructions.
Testing the Device:
To connect the Ooler device to the App, press the Bluetooth/power button for 5 seconds. The LCD screen will indicate a small Bluetooth icon along the top left. Open the App and add the device. I loved that I was able to change the name of the Ooler. Similar to a Sleep Number bed, this technology would conveniently allow you to have separate temperature zones within a bed. Once paired, the App proved to be quite intuitive and responsive. If I pressed the temperature up or temperature down buttons on the device, the LCD values would adjust up or down on the machine and within the App. The large centralized value represented the actual temperature and the number to the right represented the target temperature. The App had a large central slider arc, which allowed me to adjust the temperature from 55 degrees Fahrenheit to approximately 114 degrees Fahrenheit. Beneath this, I was able to adjust the fan speed from silent, to regular, to boost. Using the Decibel X App, the silent fan speed put out 51.2–60.2 decibels and had an average of 52.9 decibels. The regular setting ranged from 56.8–63.4 and had an average of 57.7 decibels. On boost mode, there was a significant increase in the volume from 59.1–64.8 decibels, with an average of 60.3 decibels. When compared to the average 30–40 decibels of a CPAP machine, the Ooler was rather loud.
Along the bottom of the App, you can choose between Device, Schedule, My Sleep, and Settings. The “Device” tab will allow you to manually adjust the temperature up or down, turn on/off the device, and to navigate to settings or the other App panels. Tapping “Schedule,” allowed me to adjust my preferred bedtime, wake up time and allowed me to add other times throughout the night. If you tap anywhere within the row, you can adjust the desired setting for the temperature and or time. Navigating to the My Sleep section, you can rate your sleep each night and then adjust the settings as needed. From within “Settings,” you can adjust between Fahrenheit and Celsius, change the password, adjust the Bedtime and Rate Your Sleep reminders, reach Ooler Support page online, check for firmware updates, re-learn the setup instructions, learn about the Application version, build number and copyright information, and then log out of the device, if desired. Returning to the main panel, if you select the cog along the top right, you can turn on/off the display light, disconnect from the device, remove the device, rename the device and start a deep clean.
Per the instruction manual, the device has overheat protection and the ability to reset the element if needed. I did not experience any issues with the device and luckily did not have to press the reset pin in the corner hole of the base of the device. The device was designed to be low maintenance, specifically for those tech naive individuals. When you add the distilled water, it has its own integrated ultraviolet water treatment system to reduce micro-organism growth. You can set/change water cleaning times and the App will also alert you to low water levels. As noted above, the device can be used with or without the App. To use the enhanced schedule and sleep rating features, you will need to pair the app with the device. I found that the temperatures adjusted fairly well but relied upon an overlying blanket. Without the blanket, the surfaces will essentially adjust to ambient air temperatures, with mild variation. Using an infrared thermometer, I set the Ooler to 90 degrees and allowed it to sit for ten minutes. I removed our thin summer blanket and found my side of the bed to be at 82.9 degrees and my wife’s side of the bed (no temperature regulating device) to be at 75.6 degrees, while the house was set to 73 degrees.
I do not know why you would want to remove the device from your bed, but if desired, the tear down was just as easy as the setup. The company provided a tubing release button and a drain tool to drain the water out of the tank and the water panel. I would recommend you not do these steps in the bedroom. For more information, navigate to the chilitechnology.com or to the Ooler site directly website and enjoy free u.s. shipping, 2 year limited warranty and a 90-day satisfaction guarantee. I was rather taken aback by the price of the device and suffered from some sticker shock. Despite the price tag, you should not skimp on sleep or shoes. Personally my back and my feet, besides sight/smell/taste/hearing, are the two most important systems that I do not want to hurt. Todd and Tara Youngblood, the Co-Founders of Ooler did a great job with this system. If I was going to provide my input on an Ooler 2.0, I would recommend working on the fan volume to reach a decibel level of 35–40 and I would also work on reducing the price to the $499 range. There is simply something special about the $500 mark that makes something seem so much more expensive.
I have tested this device over the last 1.5 weeks and have enjoyed the improved sleep. I have utilized the schedule feature and cooled my bed to 60 degrees at bedtime, 55 degrees at 12:30 and then increased the temperature to 75 degrees at 5:30 am. Combined with my Ooler temperature settings, I adjusted my Nox Smart Sleep Light/Sleepace App light cycle to match the daily schedule. My wife was able to enjoy her warmer side, while I was able to enjoy my cooler side.
Learn more about the device on Ooler.co
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Pre-Order for Shipping in July, 2019
Originally published at https://macsources.com on June 6, 2019.
