Dyson’s new hi-tech devices tackle air pollution, allergies in the home

DYSON’S newest product range is not what you might expect from the company — but it claims to solve a pretty big problem.

DYSON is known for its vacuum cleaners with extreme sucking power, but it’s new home product range put that power to another purpose — and it’s really a stroke of genius.

The company launched its latest line of hi-tech air purifiers today, spruiking the power of its fan and filter technology to keep our homes free of harmful pollutants.

When it comes to selling products, it’s marketing 101. Create a problem, or at least draw attention to one, and then offer a solution.

In this case, the problem is the invisible air pollution and microscopic allergenic particles that pervade our environment. And of course the solution is Dyson’s $649 Pure Cool air purifying fan.

The company has released two new devices under the name. A smaller desktop version for $649 and a taller and more narrow fan designed to sit on the floor for $799.

Dyson Pure Cool fan range launched today and comes in two different colours.

Dyson brought out its first air purifier products three years ago and the new devices represent the second generation of the product line and boast technical upgrades and new connectivity.

Each machine has a 360 degree fully-sealed filter system at its base, that sits underneath a powerful fan that can suck in various pollutants identified by three built in sensors.

A unique Dyson algorithm processes the input from the sensors and displays air quality readings on a small LCD screen on the front of the fan.

As the fans drag particles in, an activated carbon filter works to remove gases and pollutants. Dyson says its filter system captures 99.95 per cent of fine particles such as microscopic allergens and pollutants.

“We’ve really improved the filter. They’re bigger and better,” Dyson engineer Jessica Rowley who worked on redesigning the filters told news.com.au. They contain nine metres of condensed and sealed borosilicate microfibre filters as well as carbon filters coated in a chemical solution to increase the absorption efficiency.

“We’ve also improved our oscillation, so previously we were only up to 90 degrees but now we can go all the way up to 350 degrees,” she said.

By expanding the degree of oscillation to 350 degrees coupled with a propulsion system Dyson refers to as its Air Multiplier technology, the machine can project 290 litres of purified air per second to every corner of the room, the company says.

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Journalists were treated to product demonstrations and a deconstructed view of the filtering system.

The Pure Cool fans are the result of two years of research and development by 75 engineers spread across six countries who developed more than 2600 prototypes of the machine

and subassemblies during development.

The fans also come with a new and improved app if you really want to get pedantic and keep abreast of all the undesirable particulates in the air.

The internet connectivity also allows the company to send over-the-air updates to the fan’s software.

“We just really want to make sure that the user interaction side is really great and that we’re always really improving that,” Ms Rowley said.

AIR POLLUTION IN THE HOME

At an event in Sydney this morning, the company rolled out the experts to drive home the problem that Dyson promises to fix with these products.

“Air pollution inside the home and outside is exactly the same. It’s things in the air that you don’t normally expect to breath,” said Professor John Bell, the head of the School of science and Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology.

“That can be dust particles, dust mites, it can be pollen from outdoors and it can be emissions from materials inside the house. Everyday cleaning products all contain organic solvents of some sort, perfumes are the same — all of those things are effectively pollutants inside the house,” he said.

Prof Bell works with a team of researchers at the Queensland university who are developing mobile plug-in devices that detect air pollutants amid growing demand for such products, particularly in places like China where pollution is at dangerous levels.

“All of our furniture has been treated with chemicals,” he said. “It doesn’t mean it’s dangerous but continued and prolonged exposure to some of those things can be dangerous.”

Dr Sheryl van Nunen, a clinical allergist from the National Asthma Council said air purifiers like the one launched by Dyson could rid the home of dust mites that can cause strong allergic reactions.

“You can rid them in the atmosphere, particularly if you’re allergic to them as many people are,” she said.

The company called the fans the most intelligent purifiers it has developed.

DO YOU NEED SUCH A PRODUCT?

The short answer is probably no.

However if you’re one of the nearly 20 per cent of Australians who suffers from hayfever or the many who suffer from asthma, a device like this could seriously help mitigate sources of agitation and bring you some relief.

But otherwise most Australian households probably aren’t in an environment that demands an air purifier in the home.

A recent study by the World Health Organisation and Berkeley Earth showed that breathing in air pollution in big cities is similar to smoking cigarettes. In Kanpur, India — the most polluted city — breathing the outside air amounted to smoking about 7.8 cigarettes a day, in terms of toxins. Comparatively, Australian cities were roughly the equivalent of a third of a cigarette.

“In China and South Korea there’s a real awareness about the air quality problem,” Ms Rowley said. “But in countries like Australia, there isn’t really that sort of market space where outdoor pollution is really bad. But purifiers like these can be used when you’re dealing with allergies and there is still a problem to tackle around indoor air quality,” she said.

“I think the most uptake will be among those people with asthma, allergies and people with young families.”