Home Appliance of the Year shortlist
Over the last 12 months, we've tested a lot of products that aim to make life at home more comfortable - whether that be by improving your health or just making your morning cup of coffee better. From air purifiers to robotic vacuum cleaners, here are our top five home appliances of the year.
See all our Kit Awards Shortlists for 2019
Tado Smart Thermostat Starter Kit V3+
With heating accounting for 60% of the average household energy bill, Tado claims that its smart technology could save you up to 31% on your annual heating costs. With a price tag of around £200, the Tado smart thermostat could pay for itself within a few months. We’re totally convinced that smart thermostats are a good idea. Not only will they save you money, but they’ll also make your life more comfortable - especially over winter.
Driving home from work? Turn the heating up so your house is snug when you get home. In bed wishing it was a bit warmer? Just tap the app or tell Alexa to adjust the temperature. Compared to rivals like Hive or Nest, the Tado represents good value for money. There isn’t really anything it doesn’t do, and it’s easy to install and use. However, we’re not convinced £2.99 for Auto Assist is worthwhile - many people will be happy that the Tado does everything they need once installed, without paying any extra costs.
Buy it now
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£134.99 |
Melitta coffee machine
The Melitta CI Touch is clearly one of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines on sale right now. Easy to use, stylish and hugely customisable — it provides simplicity to the otherwise complex and (occasionally) baffling world of high-end coffee. It can brew two drinks simultaneously while allowing the user to tailor coffee strength, temperature and grinding fineness of the beans involved. It comes with a two-year warranty as well.
At £999 (when it isn't discounted), the Melitta CI Touch is a significant outlay in terms of cost, but it's difficult to deny the outstanding quality that's on offer here. Plus, for two adults willing to give up coffee shop coffee and replace it with a home-brewed alternative, the CI Touch will quickly recoup its cost in a year. And it also steam cleans itself. Fancy...
Buy it now
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£499.95 |
Dyson Pure hot+cool purifying fan heater
Dyson's Pure hot+cool purifying fan heater is a clever, feature-packed, powerful machine. It has the potential to replace a fan, heater and purifier, which - when you think of it in those terms - goes some way to justify the big price tag. If you were to buy all three of those devices, you might spend the same amount of money - and you'd need the space to store them.
There's no doubt that the Dyson Pure hot+cool purifying fan heater does an excellent job of purifying air, and it really does heat/cool a room down in very little time. There are very few machines that will give you such intricate detail about the quality of the air in your environment. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for - and this is a very premium machine.
Eufy RoboVac 11S
While high-end robotic vacuum from big-brand names like Dyson and Roomba still cost a pretty penny, mid-range options like the Eufy RoboVac 11S offer a very decent, cheaper alternative. All in all — it's easy to use, quiet and does what it says on the tin.
It's also a very useful tool for anyone who struggles with lugging a vacuum around. Who knows, you might even use the extra daily 15 minutes you'd usually spend vacuuming to read more or learn to play the piano. Or, more likely, to stay in bed a little longer.
Meaco DD8L Zambezi Dehumidifier
In case you don't already know, a dehumidifier is designed to prevent condensation and rising damp forming indoors by stopping air from becoming too humid. It essentially sucks in moisture to make the air around you more comfortable to breathe, which also prevents respiratory problems caused by damp environments, and then releases the dehumidified air back into the room.
The DD8L Zambezi is arguably the most feature-packed, advanced desiccant dehumidifier around. That fact goes some way to explaining why it's priced higher than other brands. It's not perfect, it can be a bit noisy with the fans on maximum speed, but if you want to dehumidify colder environments, we highly recommend the Zambezi. It's our pick of the best all-round dehumidifier you can buy, especially if you're looking for a machine to sit in a garage to stop your pride and joy rusting in damp air.
Buy it now
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£280.99 |
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