Why Dyson Pure Hot+Cool air purifier makes sense for India, even at Rs 52,900: First Impressions

Air pollution in India is a concerning factor and it is linked to various health problems in all age groups. While it is not possible to address the rising concern on a national level, people can at least take precautionary measures inside houses to keep deadly diseases and infections at bay.

According to a recent WHO report, India is home to 14 out of 15 most polluted cities, but air pollution is not limited to outdoors. Indoor pollution also raises major health risks, with kids and family members being exposed to various pollution sources such as cooking fumes, cleaning products, pet dander and disintegrated faeces.

While people are starting to take health risks caused by air pollution seriously, implementing necessary precautions that are also effective are still not widely practised. One of many reasons for that is the affordability factor, which forces concerned Indians to settle for cheaper, lesser effective alternatives.

Face masks are quite popular in India, but they are only effective when worn tight, which is not comfortable for long hours. In that case, air purifiers come in to play and there are many brands out there offering different options that vary in technology and price. But Dyson is setting its own playing field by offering nothing but the best air purifiers in the industry.

In a year since Dyson has made its entry into India with a variety of home and consumer products, it has established itself as a luxury brand with value-for-money products. For Dyson, it's not the volume of sales, but the technology with which each product ships as there is just one shareholder whose name is on the products. It's about reputation, and Dyson seems to be doing an excellent job at that.

On Thursday, Dyson launched its latest air purifier called Pure Hot+Cool at a staggering price of Rs 52,900. For those who have seen air purifiers from brands like Xiaomi will find this obnoxious, but Dyson is out there to justify its price tag with some unseen technology in ordinary purifiers.

"A good air purifier should sense, capture, project, heat and cool you. We insist on developing technology that works properly, without compromise on any functions. Our latest machine goes beyond standard tests. It heats and cools you quickly and effectively – while always purifying the whole room," Sam Bernard, Global Category Director, Environmental Control, Dyson, said in a statement.

After witnessing various demonstrations of Dyson Pure Hot+Cool air purifier at the event, we have come to conclude that it is an ideal machine for India's current state. I've laid out some important elements of Dyson air purifier after attending the demo sessions at the event.

Heating

As the name suggests, Dyson Pure Hot+Cool air purifier can be used as a heater to combat those chilly winters at home, especially in the northern parts of India where temperatures drop to 3-4 degrees. Dyson Pure Hot+Cool can purify the air around you and also keep you warm.

Dyson heating works in a way that maintains steady temperature across the room by heating the air in the room and diffusing itself until the temperatures drop again. The smart sensors in the Dyson air purifier can detect even a single degree Celsius drop in temperature from what you've set and it will automatically turn on the heater. Since heating consumes more power, Dyson uses this on and off method. The demo unit I saw at the event seemed to work effectively in this regard in an 81 meter-cube room, which is an ideal size for a room or even a living room.

Oscillation

Dyson Pure Hot+Cool comes with 350-degree oscillation with tilt down and tilt up options to point the air in a certain direction. In a spacious room, it was able to pass cool streams of air quite efficiently. When asked why the oscillation is limited to 350 degrees, Bernard laughingly told me it is an engineering requirement to avoid the power cable tying a knot inside the machine.

Sure, they could have made a 360-degree rotation, but it would mean increasing the size of the air purifier, which went against the design aesthetic – something Dyson takes very seriously if you've looked at their products.

Air Purification

Dyson Pure Hot+Cool air purifier comes with two HEPA filters and two activated carbon filters for effective cleansing of air. Compared to its previous iterations, the new model comes with 60 percent more HEPA media and the activated carbon is three times more effective. The Dyson air purifier can absorb gases, odours, domestic fumes, PM2.5, PM10, VOCs, NO2. The air purifier comes with nine meters of a condensed and sealed borosilicate microfiber filter to capture 99.95% of particle pollution as small as 0.1microns, which makes Dyson one of the few companies to clean air so effectively.

Several tests were shown to prove Dyson Hot+Cool air purifier's efficiency. In one such demo, a deodorant was sprayed on the purifier, and it showed the machine to instantly react to this and start absorbing the harmful contents in the air. Within minutes, the air levels were brought to good quality.

In a separate demo, a box with the air purifier in it was filled with smoke and the Dyson purifier sensed it to instantly turn on the fan and suck all the smoke. In a matter of seconds, the box was clear as a day. I was impressed by this and could relate to it seeing the rising pollutant levels in and around our homes.

Ease of use

Simplicity is in the DNA of Dyson products with a touch of elegance. The latest air purifier is nothing different as it follows the company's signature design, making it more of an artefact for your living room. There's a tiny remote control to help you navigate through most of the options, but the Dyson Link app-based controls seemed much easier.

You can be at your office and control your air purifier at home, be it to purify, heat the room or shut the purifier off completely. The app also shows you when you might need to replace those HEPA and activated filters, each costing about Rs 2,250.

There are different air measurement scales, and Dyson works in a way that the air quality is maintained at "good." For India, Dyson air purifier comes with two additional PM10 scales – extremely poor and severe – which can be detected by the machine.

The app lets you control fan speed, temperature, activating night mode for minimal noise, scheduled air purification and more. Overall, Dyson Hot+Cool air purifier is a complete package with no compromise in purifying the air around you.

Should you buy?

At Rs 52,900, Dyson Hot+Cool air purifier is a hard sell. But it's not for everyone. Good things come at a price, so don't expect Dyson to cost cheap. It is still a luxury product, but it is also the best in its class. If you can afford Dyson's new air purifier, then you should go for it as it brings you the latest tech, exemplary design, multiple functions like heating and cooling, app-based controls, Alexa integration, and year-long maintenance-free use.

From the product point of view, I was impressed by Dyson, but the pricing still makes it a niche product that won't appeal to the masses.