Dyson Pure Cool Activated Carbon Fan and Purifier

Product Information

The Dyson Link app is new in India and it's the most confusing bit about this device. That's not to say it's not useful or easy to use, it's just set to higher standards than those prevalent in India. In the week and a half that I've used it, the app has never shown me acceptable AQI levels, settling to average at best. Automatic mode is exactly what it sounds like. It activates the Pure Cool Link and adjusts the fan speed (1 being the lowest, 10 the highest) according to the room's air quality. It takes about six days for the Link to calibrate before it can sense higher than normal pollutants in an environment. Meanwhile, Night-Time mode simply sets the fan speed to 4 and dims the illuminated icons on the base. Overview: This fan basically does it all – It’s a fan, a heater and a purifier all-in-one. So, if you’re looking for something all-singing-all-dancing, this is it. Dyson claims that this fan automatically senses particles and gases, capturing 99.95% of ultrafine particles, then pushes out purified air around the room (including formaldehyde, if that’s something that may concern you – although we’d hope not). This is helpful if you live somewhere where there’s lots of pollution, or if you suffer with hayfever.

Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. Read our editorial mission & see how we test. As for how well the Link actually works, you can see its progress by viewing your air quality history. The graph changes colors based on the amount of particles in the air; green means a very low level, while red means a very high level. I set the Link in the middle of my living room near a wall, halfway between the garbage bin in my kitchen, a cat litter box, and the bathroom. I figured that would be the perfect spot to clean the air.Andas you can see in the image to the left, the air quality did improve after running the purifier for a few hours. The voice control is also a useful feature for these ongoing working-from-home times; it was a great time saver to be able to turn the fan on and off from my seat without having to get up and faff about with it (yes there’s a remote, but it’s never to hand when you need it, is it?).Performance: Cooling-wise, the fan does work and there are 10 different speeds. Saying that, you need to crank it quite high for the hottest days, at which point I found it loud. I had to turn it right down from the most powerful setting while watching TV as the noise of the fan was competing with the television. In sleep mode, it’s capped at level three, after which it becomes rather noisy, which might not be sufficient on especially warm nights. The app also has a remote, that allows you to use the Cool Link from anywhere in the world. You can set schedules to turn the air purifier on at set times during the day. You can also turn the product on/off remotely whenever required. As for the heater, obviously during a heatwave, you’ll not be so concerned with this but when I tried it, I was more impressed with it than with the cool air setting. It noticeably heated up my large kitchen-diner in about two minutes flat on a medium setting on a chilly day – I was genuinely surprised by its efficiency.

Aesthetics: This one’s a little chunkier than the Pure Cool model to account for the humidifier, and a little heavier. (But really, that’s to be expected!) A Dyson engineer told me that the company recommends the Tower for most homes. However, it is actually too powerful for most regular rooms. In a 20x20 room, the purifier cleans the air in less than 20 minutes. That is, in test conditions, when I was intentionally burning matches etc. to increase PM2.5 levels in the room. Since bringing the Cool Link into the room, there's been noticeably lesser dust on my furniture too.As there’s no purifier, naturally, this fan didn’t help my hayfever symptoms. In fact, some experts say that sleeping with a fan on can actually exacerbate symptoms by helping to circulate dust and allergens around the room. So, if you really suffer, I would recommend opting for a purifying fan. Aesthetics: Fans are never the most attractive things, but this one is the best-looking we’ve seen. Its modern, bladeless design and large cooling loop makes for a talking point. The bold, contemporary look might not be to everyone’s taste, but it fits in well with my modern white kitchen units. I also prefer the gold finish you get with the heater/cooler model more than the silver of the pure cooling types. The remote control sits neatly on the top, fixed with a magnet, so you won’t lose it. A couple of things to keep in mind: When the fan intensity is turned up to a higher setting, thePure Cool Link can get rather loud, to the point thatyou'll need to turn up the volume of the television or raise your voice when talking. In addition, the app disconnected a number of times in testing, enough times that I eventually gave up and just started using the remote. Hopefully this is something that will be fixed in a future software update, but it's worth keeping in mind.

Set-up: There is a little required assembly but putting it together was easier than with the Airgo (featured below) and I could do it alone. I just had to slot the filters onto the frame, which took all of five minutes. Pairing it with the app took another minute or so. You can control it with Alexa, too, which took me a little longer to get to grips with – but that’s more on me then the fan. Aesthetics: Some may like this futuristic-looking silver and white model, but personally, I don’t like the bulky design. It reminds me of a kitchen bin, and because the wide base, takes up a fair amount of desk space. I’d say anyone with a small bedside table would struggle to make room for it, too. The purifier uses a 360-degree glass HEPA filter that can be changed manually when required. It's lab tested for 12 months usage but could last you anywhere between eight to 12 months depending on your usage. After running for about 8 hours a day for a week and a half, my unit says the filters will last for another 4159 hours (about 6 months). Aside from its minimal, modern design, the tower has no distinguishing features. It's easy to wipe off and clean, and can be set to oscillate to help circulate air around the room. On the front of the base, near the bottom, is an embedded panel where you'll find a power button and an LED indicator that displays different symbols for when Wi-Fi is in pairing mode (flashing green), when it's connecting (flashing white), and when it's connected (solid white). When set to Automatic, the base will display a solid white A whilecleaning, and a solid green Awhen the air quality target has been met. A crescent moon symbolappears when the machine is inNight-Time mode. More on those modes in the next section.

How much is clean air worth?

Features: This model really does do it all. Like the Pure Cool, it works to monitor your home’s air quality and, if it detects any anomalies, adjusts its power accordingly to improve the air condition until it stabilises. It can do this automatically, or manually via the remote control or Dyson Link app. The humidifier can also run automatically; just set your preferred level of humidity. There’s also 10 power levels to choose from with the fan. Once you connect to the Link and create an account, the app's main screen displays an image of a house. You can tap above the house to set your location, though this is really more like your general area. For instance, you can't select tiny townships in New Jersey across the river from Manhattan, but you can choose New York, New York. Once you select the closest area the app displays information about the outdoor air quality as provided by Breezometer, a start-up that collectsair quality and pollution data. You can also view the outside temperature, humidity, and time of day here. Functionality-wise, this fan is more basic than the Dyson. It has three speeds and can oscillate 180 degrees, if you choose, and there’s a sleep mode that keeps the fan on the lowest setting. But I loved this fan’s smart features. You can set timers and other automations, like getting the fan to turn on when the temperature reaches a certain level, Features: It’s just a fan, but it does have two speeds. The main feature, I would say, is that it looks great. Unlike the other models we tried, this one’s retro design is made from sleek metal, making it far less of an eyesore than your standard plastic tower model. If you’re big on aesthetics, you might like it, then, but if you value technical features or having more control, it won’t be for you. Performance: I was impressed with the cooling ability of this fan. Even on the lowest setting it provided noticeable cooling effects in my living room, which can get very hot as we have a large run of glazed doors that tend to trap heat. Using the night setting, my room stayed at a great temperature for sleep and the blades did not disturb me.