It's a bold move to put 'Formaldehyde' in a product title - especially when it follows 'Hot+Cool', suggesting there are two conditions of formaldehyde it might pump out at you.
Of course, it doesn't: thanks to the word 'Purifier' also in the name, you can rest assured that this is about removing formaldehyde rather than slowly pickling you in it.
There's a similar model - the Dyson HEPA Purifier Cool Formaldehyde - that gives a similar impression, but, again, it's not jetting cold formaldehyde at you, it's cleaning the air.
As with any top-of-the-range Dyson model, the price here is much loftier than your typical fan. So, is it worth the extra outlay? We've been testing it in order to find out.
Our quick take
The Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde offers a multitude of air treatments - and the performance is outstanding.
There's an instant appeal in the full spectrum of hot and cold functions, as well as those purification options, but just whether you need these all features will depend on your circumstances.
With a full range of options - and a full range of prices - there are devices lower down the scale that will give you much of the core experience and features (cooling and air filtration) at lower prices.
The Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde undoubtedly gives you a comprehensive offering, though. If you're working in an outdoor office, or perhaps living in a high-rise block where you can't open the window, this might provide the versatility you're looking for.
Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde - 4.5 / 5
| FOR | AGAINST |
|---|---|
|
|
Design and build
- 764 x 220mm; 5.5kg
- 1.8m cord
- Wireless remote
Although we tend to call them fans (in the UK, at least), Dyson's 'air treatment' products have now moved well beyond the cooling draft provided by a fan. That leads to some of the comedic names that try to spell out the functions of that device.
For this particular model, we have purification - a HEPA H13 filter system - that also detects and destroys formaldehyde, heating and cooling. Generally speaking, the more functions you get, the more you're likely to pay.
The design is now iconic, as easily recognisable as Dyson's vacuum cleaners, and certainly reaching that premium state of desirability. Everyone has a tower fan, but, if you've got a Dyson fan, there's something a little more elegant sitting in the corner of the room.
That characteristic design comprises the base, which houses the motor, and, in the case of purifying models, the filters that feed into the oval head, which is bladeless. That's one of the attractive things about Dyson's air devices - there are no moving parts on the exterior to stick your fingers into.
This model offers a tilting base, too, so you can angle it up or down slightly, as well as oscillation, which, in typical Dyson fashion is smooth and quiet, escaping the creaks you find from many oscillating fans.
The head is double-sided, allowing air to be blown out the front or indirectly moved out of the back of the device, while there's also a display on the front that will show you a status graph that relates to the air purifying skills that the fan offers.
There's a remote control, as well, which attaches to the top of the fan magnetically. As you would expect this allows a range of controls, while others are offered in the Dyson Link app. The remote will sit firmly in place, but it's easily knocked off and easily lost, with replacements (thankfully) available to buy.
We should also say that the finish is fairly easily scratched, and, over time, it will start to look a little worn.
Features and performance
- 290l/s airflow
- 10 different speed settings
- 0.1-micron filtration
- Dyson Link app,=; Alexa integration
There are lots of different features offered by this one 'fan'. With lots of different models in the Dyson range, it's possible you will be better off with a different model if you don't feel you need all of this. There are models that just provide heating, ones with cooling and heating, and also ones with or without the purification.
Since the pandemic, there's been a little more attention paid to air quality and filtration, but the usefulness of HEPA filters goes much further back. The idea is that all the air in the room can be circulated through the filter to extract bacteria, viruses, pollen and other pollutants - including formaldehyde - from the air, before expelling the cleaner again.
This may be of particular interest to those who can't open the window - such as those living in a block with sealed windows, or for those with allergies who can't open the window during the day or night because of hayfever-triggering pollen.
The realities are that poor air quality is more common in winter, because we keep all the windows sealed, or we use other heaters, and the air doesn't circulate as freely. So, having those purification options all year round is certainly appealing. Indeed, if you're just after moving air to cool you down, then the Dyson Cool tower might be a better option - without the filters, there's less to think about.
The display on the front of the HP09 will give you a graph of the current air quality, and as long as the machine is plugged in, it can monitor the air quality. You can then access all this information by pressing the 'i' button on the remote and cycling through the details.
The Dyson will also identify what has been detected - PM2.5, PM10, VOC, NO2, HCHO - so you can get a better idea of what might be the source of that degradation of air quality. Particulate matter might be pollen or dust from other sources like soot, while traffic or furniture treatments can increase things like volatile organic compounds.
To deal with VOCs, there's an activated carbon mat, while, for formaldehyde, there's a catalytic filter that breaks it down. The latter also never needs changing, unlike the HEPA and carbon filters, which will need replacing. Again, there's an indicator in the app that will tell you how much life your filters have left - as well as provide a route to ordering a replacement.
Outside of air purification, the ability to blow either hot or cold provides versatility - especially in a space like an outdoor office that might have no heating arrangements at all. The cooling side is smooth and powerful, operating on a scale from 1 to 10.
There's also a night setting that will set it to 4 on that scale, which is a level where it's not too noisy, so you can imagine what it's like up at level 10.
As we mentioned above, there's a diffuse option, too, which moves air out of the back rather than through the precision jet on the front. This means you can clean the air without blowing it in your face, which is a great option for winter.
The oscillation is really impressive, as well, as you can choose the degrees you want it to turn through with a couple of presses on the remote. That means you can target it where you want it, rather than it turning to blow air into an empty space with no people to benefit.
It's all executed with a level of sophistication that surpasses other fans. There's no avoiding that this is something of an expensive showpiece, but, if you want a device that's designed well, rather than being an industrial eyesore, then Dyson is certainly there for you.
It's smart, too, allowing a connection with services like Alexa, so you can use voice controls through an Amazon Echo, for example.
What it won't do is remotely monitor the air quality and switch on when the quality drops (you could probably arrange that with a separate Alexa-compatible air quality monitor), but you can run it on Auto Mode, which will adjust the power of the fan based on the changing air quality. If you start frying something in the kitchen, the Dyson will respond and start powering through the air, cleaning out the pollutants until it's happy they have been removed.
To recap
The Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde is a feature-packed air treatment option. Many will just want the fan and filtration options (but there are cheaper options that will serve you better), while the connectivity means you can connect to voice controls and use your smartphone to control this device. The full range of options means it's ideal as a device that does everything, so, for a high-rise apartment or for a garden office, it might be all you need in both summer and winter.