You would never neglect vacuuming, washing the dishes or doing the laundry, but most people don’t even consider that the air inside of your home needs to be cleaned, too. According to the EPA, “the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities.”
Dyson claims to have an answer. Its Hot+Cool air purifiers “combine intelligent sensing with an advanced filtration system” to remove gases, odors and particles as small as 0.3 microns from the air. Additionally, the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool has the ability to evenly heat an entire room.
We wanted to see if the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool could really solve our clean air needs, so we decided to test it in a region of the country where the smoke from wildfires poses a significant health issue.
We tested the Dyson Hot+Cool air purifier in a 750 square-foot California apartment, located in the Bay Area. The renter lives in an older building with their partner and a dog, and both individuals have asthma.
Our tester has been using air purifiers since the wildfire season of 2018 when they noticed the air quality became significantly worse than normal. The older building has deteriorating seals on the doors and windows, which not only allow contaminated air inside, but also makes it difficult to retain heat. The hope with upgrading their current air purifier was that there would be a noticeable improvement in air quality and breathing conditions in the apartment.
Our tester used the Dyson Hot+Cool purifier for several weeks. Over this time, they have tested the unit’s wide range of features and taken detailed notes on the machine’s ability to perform.
The Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool is a sleek, aesthetically pleasing unit that takes up roughly the same amount of space as other air purifiers. However, since it serves a dual purpose — air purifying and heating — the Dyson takes up significantly less space than two separate units would.
The air purifier constantly analyzes the air, diagnosing the pollutants at a molecular level and displaying them in real-time on the unit’s LCD display. Using a HEPA filter with a layer of activated carbon, the machine is able to capture 99.97% of particles down to 0.3 microns in size while also removing odors and hazardous compounds.
The machine is powerful enough to create an airflow with deep penetration to create circulation that can purify and evenly heat an entire room. For convenience, the model can be operated via an app, voice commands or by using the included remote.
We found the Dyson air purifier was very easy to assemble: all we had to do was open the unit, insert the filters and snap the covers back in place. There are printed instructions that come with the machine, but they are not very comprehensive. The instructions within the app gave us a full tour of the product. You will need to download the Dyson Link app and follow the instructions to connect your air purifier to your Wi-Fi.
The Dyson Link app allowed us to check the air quality and room temperature at a glance. If you see green on the home screen, you know everything is working as it is intended. For us, that was enough to provide peace of mind. However, if you’d like to go a little deeper, the app also offers more detailed information about your home environment, such as indoor air quality index, relative humidity, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen dioxide, oxidizing gases and formaldehyde.
The controls on the app or the remote allow you to manually adjust the air speed and heat mode. Additionally, you can toggle the Auto mode, Cool Mode, Night Mode and oscillation on and off or change air flow direction as desired. Lastly, you can set a sleep timer if you do not want the unit running all night long.
If you prefer the set-it-and-forget-it approach, you will want to take advantage of the Auto Mode because it requires no manual adjustments. The unit monitors temperature and air quality, and it runs as needed to achieve an ideal environment.
Even though it wasn’t especially cold in the Bay Area while we were documenting the functionality of the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool, the room grew noticeably warmer within 15 minutes when we used the heating feature. The most impressive aspect of the unit’s heating performance was that it never gets hot to the touch while warming your living space — a great feature compared to the average space heater.
Beyond air purification and heating, there were a few key features that we explored to determine their effectiveness.
In general, when using the cool mode, we found the room became noticeably cooler within about 10 minutes. The powerful fan was able to quickly cool down the entire room even after cooking with high heat for 60 minutes.
If you are in close proximity to the Dyson air purifier and turn on the oscillating feature, the unit delivers immediate heating/cooling relief as the breeze passes over you, much like a normal fan. While this feature is handy for quick relief, we noticed it might not be as effective at whole room coverage.
The model we tested was not noticeably loud or disruptive, and it was roughly comparable to a white noise machine. When the unit is in Auto Mode, there is an audible change when the Heat or Fan functions first kick in, but it quickly fades into the background.
We found it very reassuring to be able to check the temperature and air quality on our smartphone. The information in the app was easy to understand, and the color-coding was very effective: green means all is good. However, since the on-product display is quite small, it wasn’t as convenient as simply checking your phone. If you choose not to install the app, the display is definitely useful, but from our experience, the app is by far the superior option.
Dyson offers a few models in its Hot+Cool line. The model we reviewed, the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP07 costs $699.99.
You can purchase the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool at Bed Bath & Beyond and Home Depot.
One of the biggest benefits of the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool for us is that it is an all-in-one unit, combining temperature control with air quality control, making it an ideal purchase for individuals with limited space in their home. In Auto Mode, you can leave the machine running around the clock and never have to worry about air quality or temperature. The sleek design allows the Dyson to fit in nearly any room while the bladeless fan is a much-appreciated safety feature. For peace of mind, the unit comes with a two-year warranty.
For our purposes, the on-product display wasn’t particularly useful and was difficult to read. It would be more helpful if it was more in line with the app.
After using the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool air purifier, we believe that this was easily the best air purifier we had ever used. Everything about this air purifier makes it feel like a smart purchase, from its intuitive design and ability to perform to its responsiveness to the environment and the detailed specs it provides on your indoor air quality. The addition of the heating and cooling feature puts it over the top.
This machine is powerful enough to keep the air clean in a small-to-midsize apartment. If you desire superior air quality and temperature control, but you have minimal floor space, this is the best option for you. For individuals who have respiratory issues and reside in older buildings or have other air quality issues, it can be a life-changer.
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Allen Foster writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
