The onset of winter in Delhi NCR brings along with it another peril – very high levels of Air Quality Index (AQI). I live in Gurgaon and the city turns into one big smoking chamber every October, November, and December. It is so bad that some privileged parents I know have decided to move out of the city entirely or at least move to a different city for the three months to ensure their child’s well being. I would do the same, if I could. So, what’s the solution for folks like us who can’t pack their belongings and move at the drop of a hat? A gadget called the Air Purifier.
Now, while many brands make air purifiers, it is one brand that always comes to mind if I have to make a recommendation – Dyson. And one of their popular ranges is the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool, which, apart from purifying the air around you, can also cool down your room or heat it up. I had the chance to use their new Hot+Cool HP07 air purifier over the past couple of weeks and here’s what I think of the new upgrades.
Assembly and Design
What you’ll generally notice first when you buy expensive gadgets is the attention to detail and the pursuit of simplicity. The Hot+Cool HP07 comes in a compact package and assembling it once you’ve removed it out of the box is pretty much child’s play. Just take the canister-shaped HP07 out of the box and remove the mesh filter cover by pressing the outer cover release button. Once you’ve done that simply push the HEPA+Carbon filter into the base until you hear a reassuring click and voila! You are ready to go.
The design of the HP07 is identical to the HP04 preceding it. There’s the canister-shaped filter box making up the base attached to which is the air purifier fan heater with the amplifier loop. This part looks like one of Dyson’s bladeless fans. One thing I noticed is that these are pretty easy to carry around and if you are planning on buying one, you can move it from your living room in the morning to your bedroom at night.
Another bit about the design is there is a Power button and a round-shaped LCD screen below it. This screen offers enough real estate for the most important information. So, even if you don’t have a smartphone you can use the HP07 with ease using just the remote and the information being displayed on the screen. Oh also, one smart design move by Dyson, which I’ve always appreciated, is one where you can place the remote face down on the purifier. The face is the concave part of the remote and it attaches magnetically to the top part of the HP07, which is convex.
Overall, this is the kind of premium gadget that blends in aesthetically with any interior setup. In fact, there is a new Black colour option, which looks rather attractive too.
Functionality, App Design, and performance
Talking about what the HP07 can do for you:
- It can purify the air around you. Obviously.
- It can heat the room during winters.
- It can provide cool air during summers. But no, this is not a replacement for your air conditioner.
Before we get into the specifics of the performance, the most exciting part about using a Dyson is the smarts. The Dyson Link app, available on both iOS and Android, is possibly one of the most feature-rich and functional apps that let you control your smart home gadgets. You can easily link your HP07 to the app by merely bringing your phone close to the purifier, and following the on-screen procedure to give it Wi-Fi access.
Once you’ve done that you can also create Siri Shortcuts, or use Alexa/Google Assistant Voice commands. I don’t know if it is just me but I still find it fascinating and magical that we can directly speak to our gadgets. My TV, AC, and Air Purifier all listen to me now.
However, the main page is where the real action lies. The screen is split into two: the top half shows the Temperature, Humidity, AQI, PM2.5, PM10, and NO₂ levels, whereas the bottom half has the same information for the room in which your air purifier is placed. But, I did notice that the iOS app had a weird bug where it wouldn’t update the real time AQI data and I had to restart the app to fix it.
Anyway, when the purifier is on, you can choose to cool the room or heat it. Cooling is handled by the amplifier loop fan. You can control the fan speed or set it to Auto. Plus, the direction of airflow can also be controlled along with the degree of oscillation. It is all very intense. When this fan is in operation, the new HP07 can run at 20% quieter noise. Which was immediately apparent from my previous HP04 review unit. It did run quieter especially at the higher levels of speed. That said, the difference is not too drastic. Also, when it comes to cooling, think of it as an air cooler not an air conditioner. I found it pretty effective nonetheless.
As for the heating function, you can set a temperature you want to achieve and the HP07 will automatically switch off the heating once it reaches the preset temperature level. It is all very intelligent and not once did it falter. Again, the heating happens evenly unlike the harsh cheap heaters most of us end up buying during winter. But, don’t expect it to be effective in a very large room like your living room. However, inside a bedroom with closed doors, I found the HP07 to be extremely effective.
Coming to the most important function of the HP07 – purifying the air. It is important to know that the industry-wide standard for testing air purifiers is CADR or Clean Air Delivery Rate. However, in this test the air quality is tested with only one sensor. Dyson’s engineers have their own testing process called POLAR test, where the company goes above and beyond to use nine sensors and a wider area to test the purifier. I am certain that other purifiers might struggle to ace this test. In any case, Dyson claims that this purifier removes 99.5% of the harmful particles in air as small as 0.1 microns. What I did notice was that I was breathing cleaner air as my chest didn’t feel heavier. And, a visual indication was that the PM2.5 and PM10 levels were dropping steadily after using the purifier.
By the way, the HP07 also has an indicator that tells you the remaining filter life and sends you a notification when it is time to change it. Here’s another advice, you must keep continuous monitoring on, to gather environmental data throughout the day. Overall, once you use the HP07 you know that you are getting a premium product.
Should You Buy the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool (HP07)?
The HP07 is a minor upgrade over the HP04 as far as you, the end consumer, are concerned. Yes, it runs quieter now but it’s not a drastic difference in everyday usage. However, when you look at the engineering of a product, it is quite an achievement that the HP07 offers a fully sealed HEPA 13 standard. But, as enticing as the new upgrade looks, it is not a tangible one. All it’ll do is give you a peace of mind, that your product is a tad bit safer.
Honestly, at this point, Dyson is just pushing for perfection in a space where it has already established its mastery.
The introductory price of the HP07 is Rs 47,515 (Rs 66,900 standard retail price), whereas you can get the HP04 for Rs 39,015 (Rs 56,900 standard retail price). And Dyson doesn’t really phase out its older products soon. Which gives people the option to save some money considering these are expensive products. And, in this case specifically, the HP04 continues to make a whole lot of sense even in 2021. Unless, you care about extremely minor performance gains. Then going for the absolute best Dyson air purifier right now, the Hot+Cool (HP07), of course, makes sense.
And, let’s not forget that there are a slew of options in the market from brands like Xiaomi, Realme, Philips, and more, that offer purifying the air around you for 1/5th the price of the HP07. But, these are not nearly as technically sound or feature rich or effective even. If you ask me, when it comes to the matter of your personal health and the well being of your family, it might make sense to spend more money on a competent product over affordable options.
