Want a smart fan? Retrofit your dumb fan for less with these Amazon Prime Day deals
Who needs a pricey smart fan when this combo does the job?
Things are heating up this summer, and I don't just mean because of this week's Prime Day deals. Temperatures may not be as high this year as they were last year just yet, but the summer is yet young.
It's never wise to be caught in the home appliance store frenzy to nab one of the best fans and beat the heat when it comes around to heatwave season, so it's always a good idea to be prepared.
However, if you're on a tight budget or have a perfectly good dumb fan at your disposal at home, you might be better off spending $70 / £55 on this combination of Amazon gadgets.
Until recently, I lived in an apartment that was wildly ill-equipped to handle the heat, but I hate the idea of scrapping my old faithful desktop fan. That's why last year, I bought one of Amazon's Smart Air Quality Monitors, which I'm using in conjunction with a smart plug I already had lying around at home to give my dumb fan some extra brains.
You'll need the Alexa app or an Echo device, but if you don't already have one there are plenty available at low, low prices right now; check out our list of the top Echo deals for all the biggest savings there.
Assuming you have that covered, you simply plug in your fan or purifier to your smart plug, pair the plug and air quality monitor, and then set up a routine that triggers the smart plug whenever it gets above or below a certain temperature. Hey presto! You've just retrofit your first dumb fan and turned it into a smart one.
Prime day deal - Smarten up your dumb fan for $70
Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor: was $69.99 now $46.99 at Amazon
Don't let its unassuming looks fool you - this little cube may fit perfectly on your bookshelf, but it's capable of measuring particulate matter (PM 2.5), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), humidity, and temperature. You'll need an Echo device or the Alexa app to control it, but it's well worth it for the peace of mind and ability to automate your home's cooling and purifying devices.
Amazon Smart Plug: was $24.99 now $12.99 at Amazon
Amazon's own smart plug doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, but it's simple, effective, and offers a much smoother integration to the Amazon smart home ecosystem than most. It's also compactly designed, meaning you don't lose access to your second outlet.
Prime day deal - Retrofit your cooling kit for £55
Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor: was £69.99 now £39.99 at Amazon
This small and mighty gadget can track and measure particulate matter (PM 2.5), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), humidity and temperature, and integrates with Alexa to allow for greater control of your home environment. It's an excellent addition to any smart home, especially at almost half the price.
Amazon Smart Plug: was £24.99 now £15.99 at Amazon
Every Prime Day, we see this simple and sweet plug drop to around this price, offering an almost-50% discount that's well worth considering - though last year it dropped to £12.99. There are, of course, other options available, but Amazon's own products tend to work the most seamlessly with Echo devices and the Alexa app, meaning you have one less interface to worry about.
You can save more by checking out our Amazon discount codes page.
More Amazon Prime Day deals in the US
- Amazon Devices: Fire TV Stick from $14.99
- Apple: iPads and Apple Watch from $189
- Audible: three months free
- Back to school: essentials and tech from $5
- Cameras: $100 off GoPro bundle
- Gaming: free PC games until July 16
- Headphones: deals on Sony and JBL
- Health: electric toothbrushes from $14.99
- Kitchen: up to 44% off Ninja and KitchenAid
- Kindle: three months Kindle Unlimited
- Laptops: record-low prices for MacBook Air
- Music Unlimited: five months free
- Smart home: up to 61% off cameras
- Tablets: Amazon Fire and Samsung from $64.99
- TVs: cheap TVs from $64.99
- Vacuums: Shark and Bissell from $99
More Amazon Prime Day deals in the UK
- Amazon Devices: up to 66% off
- Audible: three months free
- Books: from 99p
- Cars: dash cams from £31.99
- Fans: deals from £15
- Gaming: free PC games until July 16
- Gift cards: 15% off
- Headphones: from £7.99
- Health: electric toothbrushes from £16.99
- Kitchen: air fryers from £29.99
- Laptops: devices from £149
- Music Unlimited: five months free
- Phones: Samsung and Motorola from £83.99
- Tablets: £110 off Honor Pad 8
- TVs: cheap TVs from £139.99
- Video: movies and TV shows from £1.99
- Wi-Fi: Amazon eero routers from £39.99
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Josephine Watson (@JosieWatson) is TechRadar's Managing Editor - Lifestyle. Josephine is an award-winning journalist (PPA 30 under 30 2024), having previously written on a variety of topics, from pop culture to gaming and even the energy industry, joining TechRadar to support general site management. She is a smart home nerd, champion of TechRadar's sustainability efforts as well and an advocate for internet safety and education. She has used her position to fight for progressive approaches towards diversity and inclusion, mental health, and neurodiversity in corporate settings. Generally, you'll find her fiddling with her smart home setup, watching Disney movies, playing on her Switch, or rewatching the extended edition of Lord of the Rings... again.