With all the hot weather of late, we were pleased when Dyson agreed to send us their brand new fan to review. The Dyson Hot and Cool is a heater and fan built in one, which carries the same ultra modern styling as other Dyson products. Needless to say it costs a pretty penny too, so we thought it right to compare it to a £24.99 run-of-the-mill fan in terms of design, functionality and performance.
Design
Dyson is renowned for creating products that look great and the Hot and Cold is no exception. It comes in beautiful no nonsense packaging and is easy to assemble (pop the base on the table and rotate into place). It’s slightly taller than a regular desk fan but has a smaller footprint, so as long as you don’t have a height restriction on your desk it works out as great space saver.
The Dyson is easier to assemble and looks the bees knees.
The desk fan took much longer to put together and is much wider. This makes it neigh on impossible to place up against a wall, especially if you need the fan to oscillate. There’s also the issue of moving parts and those blades that collect dust and flies.
Dyson’s Hot and Cool wins in terms of design hands down. It’s a thing of beauty and is as much of a focal point as it is functional fan.
Functionality
Everything can be controlled using the remote. Keep this away from little hands though, the battery comes out easily.
A fan is just a fan, right? Wrong! Everything today comes with added functions as the table below illustrates. Again the Dyson is a gadget nuts dream as it comes with 7 more speeds, a remote (that stores neatly on top with thanks to a magnet) and an effortless slide and tilt head for precise air direction changes.
| Dyson Hot & Cool | Desk Fan | |
| Speed Settings | 10 speeds | 3 speeds |
| Directionality | Smooth angle tilt. 180 degree revolution and position lock. | Pitch and direction locks. 180 degree revolution. |
| Remote | Yes | No |
Performance
Dyson says the Hot and Cool can deliver 33 cubic litres of air a minute, 16 times a regular fan without buffeting. This claim is correct but with one important caveat; at speed 10 the Air Multiplier is much louder than the regular fan and feels no cooler in extreme heat (the regular fan is marginally better in these extreme heats).
During temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius plus there is no discernible difference between the Dyson and a regular fan. However, when the temperature is more manageable (22 to 28) the Dyson is capable of bringing the whole rooms temperature down. Is it any better? Possibly not, but it sure looks good doing it.
speed settings go from 1 to 10.
The Dyson Hot and Cool is fantastic for providing a continuous breeze (setting 1-5) which makes it an ideal desk fan and is quiet enough at these lower levels for use at night time. The ability to set precise speeds makes the Dyson much better equipped to provide comfort in different temperatures.
Let there be heat
The ‘hot’ will heat a room up to 37degrees Celsius.
The Hot and Cools trump card is that it can heat entire rooms with ease, whereas regular fans cannot. You can set the thermostat to the nearest degree and it switches off and on automatically when needed. It works very quickly too, heating up small and medium-sized rooms quickly. I’ll be putting this feature to the text when the temperature drops a little, so watch this space.
Conclusion
The Dyson Hot and Cool has performed well in this review/comparison. It’s easier to use, has more features, looks amazing and can cool or heat an entire room. It can be noisy at high speeds but doesn’t sound like a buffeting chopper like the regular fan. Yes it’s almost 15 times more expensive, but it’s a statement piece and does perform better overall (even if as a cooling device it isn’t much better than a normal fan).
If you’ve got the funds, and you want a fan and heater that looks amazing, then it’s worth the money. If you want a bit of cool air just buy a regular fan. Let us know your thoughts and please ask any questions, this review and comparison is by no means over :-). Check out the official Dyson Hot and Cool page.
