This is a fan for life, not just one heatwave - I even take it to the garden with me

Blimey, it's hot. A phrase I'm sure all of us have uttered over the past couple of months. And with few of our homes offering the instant relief of air conditioning, the obvious solution is some sort of electric fan. But which one?

In my case, not the cheap 'lightbulb' fans that have been the menace of my TikTok feeds Whilst inexpensive handheld fans have their place, at home, you'll need something a bit more resilient. Something like the Dimplex DuoCool Smart Cordless 2-in-1 Fan.

It's certainly packed with features – it can convert from a tabletop to a freestanding in a few clicks; has a battery life of up to 45 hours; promises to be whisper quiet and can even be controlled by Alexa. But while the Dimplex DuoCool makes a good case for being one of the best cooling fans around, would it actually, ahem, blow us away?

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Dimplex DuoCool Smart Cordless 2-in-1 Fan review

• RRP: £179.99
• Dimensions: H91.7cm x Dia36cm
• Weight: 4.9kg
• Power: 30W
• Speeds: 5 fan speeds plus Turbo
• Features: 60°/120°/180° oscillation; child lock; sleep timer; remote; cordless
• Warranty: 3-year guarantee

Unboxing the Dimplex DuoCool Smart Cordless 2-in-1 Fan

Given it's a floor-standing design, the Dimplex DuoCool arrived in a surprisingly small square box, just as you'd pick it up in store. As you can see, Dimplex are keen to highlight that three-year warranty and the fact the fan works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home.

Open up the box and everything is efficiently packaged, with cardboard dividers (yay!) and plastic bags (boo!) protecting the fan's surfaces. As regular readers of my reviews will know, I like my tech to be packaged in as eco-friendly a way as possible, so this was probably a 5/10, given the bags and lamination on the box. Plastics aside, this makes a good first impression.

The instructions are neatly rested on top, so it's very easy to get into the set-up of the fan straightaway. The main 'head' is very sleek and smooth in matt charcoal and black, and the carry handle sculpted into the back makes it very easy to lift out and carry.

I was momentarily confused as to where the short legs (for the fan in tabletop mode) were, but they were rather cleverly stowed in the fan base. As someone who couldn't tell you where half the attachments for her vacuum cleaner are, I thought this was a little bit genius, as it makes them far less likely to be lost.

Once you've located the parts, and with the instructions to hand, assembly was quick and straightforward. I started using the fan on its stand, which you attach by lowering the fan head down into the stand and clicking it in place.

To remove it, simply press the release button on the top of the base and pull. It's very easy and didn't ever seem to stick or jam. To remove the short legs from the stand (these come it two parts), push them inward and they'll spring out. Then you'll need to line up the two semicircles to click them into the fan. Again, it's super simple, and it doesn't take too much strength to remove them.

To control the fan, there are four options – on-fan buttons, a standalone remote, the GlenDimplex Connect app and voice controls through Amazon Alexa or Google Home. Of course, we tried all four during the course of the testing.

Who would the Dimplex DuoCool Smart Cordless 2-in-1 Fan suit?

As the Dimplex is a two-in-one wireless fan, I'd say it's a good buy for someone looking for a versatile model that they plan to move from room to room, or even into the garden. So if you live in a milder climate that suffers the occasional heatwave, or if you have aircon in your main bedroom but want a fan you can use in other areas of the house to stay cool, it's a wise option.

Also, because it's wireless, you can take it out to the garden, or perhaps even on a camping trip. As tents have a tendency to get super-hot inside, I can see the DuoCool offering a lot of relief on warm days. And you could even charge it in the car via the USB-C cable and a relevant 5V adaptor.

Finally, there's a strong case for buying the fan if you have mobility or dexterity issues. it is surprisingly lightweight given its size, but even better, you can control it via your voice, so there's no fiddling around with pesky buttons or leaving that comfy chair.

At this point, it's a good time to reveal that. had a little help in testing this fan. After using it myself for a couple of weeks, I handed it over to my sister-in-law Claire, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis.

Claire, like many diagnosed with MS, finds it more difficult to regulate her body temperature and suffers from heat sensitivity, which can exacerbate symptoms like fatigue. So she was eager to test the fan through the heatwave.

Another thing to know about Claire is that she (unlike me, who has been known to sleep through fire alarms and an actual earthquake) can be woken by the sound of a pin dropping. So the quieter the fan, the better for her. And as we'll see, the DuoCool really delivers on that front for keeping your bedroom cool.

What is the Dimplex DuoCool Smart Cordless 2-in-1 Fan like to use?

Let's start with the out-of-the-box experience. Once I'd attach the fan to the stand, I first tried controlling it with three buttons on the fan head – one each for the timer, power level/on/off and angle of oscillation. A gentle tap will scroll through the options. In general, I found these easy to use and not so sensitive that you'd miss your chosen setting by scrolling too fast.

The timer button is one that you'll need to get your head around, as there are actually 6 different onboard options – from 1 hour to 7 hours. As you cycle through, combinations of the LED indicators will light up, for example 1hr + 2hr for a three-hour timer, or 2hr + 4hr for a six hour timer.

The oscillation options are simpler as there just three, each with their own LED indicator: 60°, 120°, or 180°.

There are six power levels in total (1 to 5 plus a Turbo options) and one of the first things that struck me is how quiet the fan is in modes 1 and 2. Claire was able to sleep soundly through the night with the fan on these settings, while I was undisturbed up to level 3.

I took dB readings for each of the settings for reference in a quiet bedroom with no road or other noises to disturb the results:

As you can see there is a big jump in noise output from settings 3 to 4, which correlates with an increase in wind speed. By day, we typically used the fan in modes 3 or 5. Only on the very hottest days (36 degrees C), did we put the the fan into turbo mode, but as it's quite noisy, we found mode 5 to be a better compromise.

Using the remote and the app

The Dimplex DuoCool comes with a battery-powered remote, which works well enough. it is, however, quite diddy, which means that if you're prone to losing things, you might be better off sticking with the app.

The remote does pretty much what the onboard buttons do – cycle through speeds, oscillation and timer settings, turn the fan on and off completely, and set the child lock. But obviously it's very useful if you don't want to move from your chair or bed!

The app, on the other hand, unlocks a few more smart features – and as it's free, it's well worth downloading. Called GlenDimplex Connect, it's available for iOS and Android.

As you can see from the above screen grabs, the app allows you to do everything you can with the remote, and more.

You can schedule the fan to come on and off at more specific times, turn the fan's onboard LED displays off, see the fan's precise remaining battery power and set it up to work with any Amazon Alexa or Google Home device on your home WiFi network.

You can even give the fan a nickname (we chose Jeff). We could then, via Alexa, ask Jeff to change its speed and oscillation settings, set timers and activate the child lock without lifting a finger.

There is just one downside to the app, and that's that you can only pair one smartphone to the fan at any one time. But using a smart assistant like Alexa opens control up to the whole household, so it's hardly a dealbreaker.

Battery life

Next, a quick word on battery life. On its website, Dimplex states the fully charged fan has 'up to 45 hours battery life' that 'covers several days of standard use on one charge'.

In reality on a hot summer's day with the fan in continuous use on settings ranging from 5 at some parts of the day to 1 overnight, it lasted just over 24 hours on a full charge.

I think the 45 hour charge time might be accurate if the fan were used for a few hours at a time with breaks, and on a low setting of 1-2 only. Or perhaps on level 1 continuously but with no oscillation.

Dimplex also states the battery can take up to six hours to charge. We observed that it seemed to charge more quickly, taking around four hours.

Cleaning the Dimplex DuoCool Smart Cordless 2-in-1 Fan

As long-term fan owners know, getting dust out of those caged fan blades can be pretty tricky – and not doing so will result in a nasty burning smell when you switch the fan on after a long break.

So one feature both myself and the in-laws appreciated was the fan's protective cover, which pulls tight around the head of the fan with a drawstring. It might not get much use in the middle of summer, but it'll come into its own when the fan is packed away for winter, helping keep the dust at bay.

Dimplex recommends clean the fan every six months or as needed to prevent any malfunctions, and suggests unplugging it and activating the child lock mode to prevent any accidental power-on.

To clean the air vents and front grille, Dimplex says to use a vacuum cleaner, and then wipe the other surfaces with a cloth moistened slightly with water and a little mild detergent like washing-up liquid.

As we've only been testing the fan for a couple of months and it's been in use pretty much every day, we've not really had to deal with any internal dust build-up as yet, though I would say the black finish does mean that attract dust and I've had to give it a few wipe downs. I tend to use a damp microfibre cloth, occasionally with a squirt of Purdy & Figg essential oil cleaner.

Should you buy the Dimplex DuoCool Smart Cordless 2-in-1 Fan?

In my opinion, you'd be silly not to buy the Dimplex DuoCool. This is hands down the best standard fan I've tested, thanks to its whisper-quiet operation, powerful and even airflow and impressive 24-hours-plus battery life.

With an RRP of £179.99, it's competitively priced, especially considering the three-year warranty. Another standout feature is its portability. Thanks to the rechargeable battery and carry handle, it's easy to move from room to room, or even take outside,without hunting for a plug socket. But where the DuoCool really excels is in the bedroom. It's quiet enough to sleep with on settings one or two, and the built-in timer means it can switch itself off once you've drifted off.

My sister-in-law Claire has become so attached to it that she describes herself as "the number-one fan of the fan". So if you struggle to regulate your body temperature, experience hot flushes during the menopause or simply dread sticky summer nights, the DuoCool is an investment that's well worth making.