The purpose of the Dyson Hot + Cool is to be both a heater and a cooling fan and to cater for people who value style as well as function. As with the Dyson Airblade Tap, the old Dyson Fan and other high-end Dyson appliances, you also have to be wealthy to buy it, since this fan heater has a full price of£369.99 / US$399.99 / AU$599.
A high price for something you only need in extremes, the fan feels like an expensive device, with a smooth matt feel to the all nickel-coloured finish on the Dyson AM05 Hot + Cool version we tested that gives the impression of a premium product.
Straight out of the box, the Dyson Hot + Cool is easy to set up. All you have to do is put the stand where you would like the machine to be, and then place the fan onto that, locking it in with a twist motion. You then just have to plug it into a mains socket, then you're good to go.
To control the Hot + Cool, Dyson has supplied a remote. On this, you can find buttons for on/off, start and stop movement, up and down air intensity and up and down to control temperature. This can be set from 1C to 37C (33F to 99F).
The remote itself is great, it fits nicely in your hand, and it has a curve parallel to that of the fan. And so via magnets, the remote can be stored easily atop of the Hot + Cool.
Performance
The performance of the Dyson Hot + Cool is nearly worthy of its price. The fan is powerful, and when turned up to maximum air velocity, it can cool a large room.
The heater has similar credentials, but what is even more noteworthy is the fact that the heater plates are capped at 200C (392F). This means that the surrounding dust doesn't burn, which then cancels out the bad smell normally associated with heaters.
However, while using both the fan and the heater, there was a lot of noise being generated, and by the time the air intensity was at its highest, the noise was near deafening.
Verdict
So, the Dyson Hot + Cool has awesome features and a sleek design, but a high price. That's the trouble: the price is too high for the quality. For such a premium price, you would expect the fan to make little or close to no noise.
In saying this, we wouldn't knock too much off the price, since it does include features such as the remote control and the anti-smelling heater. Also, the build quality is excellent and the stability of the product is second to none. If Dyson's engineers could just make the fan a bit quieter, it would almost be perfect.