Gadget review: Dyson Hot AM04 Fan Heater

Despite repeated protests and temperatures dropping faster than an X Factor winner’s second album, I’ve refused to cede control of the central heating.

Dyson Hot AM04 Fan Heater

£299.95 from www.johnlewis.com, www.dyson.co.uk

That does mean I jump into my salopettes to watch MasterChef and don a balaclava to brush my teeth, but at least I’ve got the hot air from my computer’s fan to warm my left foot.

As a concession to the cats, I’ve got a rickety convection heater propped up by a stack of tea-stained Reader’s Digests for the living room. Placing this beige behemoth next to the Dyson Hot reenacts a battle between a biplane and fighter jet, and I was in little doubt as to which was going to burst into flames first.

The Dyson borrows the same Air Multiplier tech from its range of desk fans. This works in a similar way to a jet engine, accelerating air through a tiny aperture and over an airfoil-shaped ramp while sucking in surrounding air. Think of it like a six times zoom on a digital camera and you’ve got an idea of the air flow increase generated.

The magnetised remote control allowed me to set the temperature to a Côte d’Azur-friendly 23 degrees and bask in the oscillating waves of warmth. The oscillation is the key, as it kept me toasty while the room as a whole heated up rapidly, clicking off automatically when it reached the target temperature. My convection heater tends to warm me up almost by accident before the thermostat gasps its last – the Dyson is far more polite. It’s the fastest way to heat a room evenly, but as with most Dyson gadgetry, it comes with a private jet-like price tag – at just under £300.

Long-range heat projection doesn’t come cheap, but I’m happy to fly First Class in at least one room of 
my house.