Dyson V15 Detect: No more dust on hardwood floors with this smart tech

Dyson V15 Detect €650

It’s difficult to look at a vacuum cleaner and think that it’s in any way high tech. They’re just there; functional, performing the dull task that most of us hate. Unless it’s a robot vacuum, of course. In that case, we hook it up to an app, give it a cute name and watch as the children and pets in the house either embrace it wholeheartedly or run from it.

Dyson has been working for a long time to change that “useful but dull” opinion of vacuum cleaners. In the past few years it has developed a range of cordless cleaners that it says are good enough to compete with your traditional plug-in cleaner.

That has required an investment in better batteries, more powerful yet smaller motors, and better filtration on the machine.

But there is only so much that you can say about battery life and bin capacity. Which is why the new Dyson V15 Detect steps it up a gear. Dyson’s latest cordless cleaner has some new features that make it worthy of notice, from both a technology perspective and a home cleaning one.

The “Detect” part of the name could refer to two elements of the V15: its laser -equipped hard floor attachment that shows up dust and dirt you might otherwise miss; and the piezo sensor that counts the types of particles your cleaner is picking up, from sugar-granule sized ones to microscopic dust and allergens such as pollen.

The last head is interesting. The green diode can be turned on and off as you see fit, angled 1.5 degrees down and sitting 7.3mm from the ground. That way it lights up fine dust and dirt, making sure that you can target it. It also disabuses you of the notion that you can trust your eyes when it comes to gauging cleanliness of your floors. My previously “clean” tiled floors suddenly looked filthy when the laser swept over them.

The upshot is you’ll know more about how clean your home is, whether you want to or not.

The V15 Detect stays with the Dyson design for its cordless cleaners. That means the version tested here, the V15 Detect Complete, has interchangeable tools with the more recent range, so if you have a previous Dyson that has come to the end of its life, don’t dispose of everything just yet.

Inside the box, you get more tools than you know what to with: a the motorised torque drive head that will cover hard floors and carpet; the previously mentioned laser fluffy head; a light pipe crevice tool, which has an LED to help you see into dark corners; a multifunction tool; the standard crevice tool; and an anti tangle hair screw that will pick up all your pet (and human) hair without causing a tangle.

On the back of the device is an LED screen that shows everything from the cleaning time you have left in each mode to the dust particles the piezo sensor has counted as the Dyson Hyperdymium motor sucks it all up.

The piezo sensor uses acoustic vibrations to count the particles 15,000 times a second. The more dust it detects, the harder it will work, boosting the suction when needed. It then categorises them into different sizes, and gives you a readout on the back of the device so you can see how much dust the V15 has picked up.

Of course, it’s not necessary to have that information, but it is interesting.

To stop all that dust filtering back out into the air, there is a washable Hepa filter that will trap particles up to 0.1 microns in size.

Like other Dyson machines, keeping those filters clean is key to making sure the machine stays in tip top shape. Once they start to clog up, you’ll notice a dip in performance, so regular maintenance is the way forward. As this is a new machine, it is, as expected, at its peak performance.

It picked up everything thrown its way, from popcorn kernels and dried lentils to the obvious dust and smaller particles that the laser highlighted in its path.

The battery lasts around 60 minutes, but that will depend on what you are cleaning. The V15 will change suction power automatically as it moves between hard floors and carpets, which will have a knock on effect on your battery. The tools you use will also have an effect, with the motorised tools draining more from the battery than the multifunction tools that have no moving parts.

Regardless, unless you have a larger than average home, the V15 Detect will easily cope with most daily cleaning without needing to recharge, and if you use the included dock for storage, keeping the battery topped up is easy.

The good
If you are particular about dust and dirt, the V15 Detect is the machine for you. The laser is brutal; it sees all.

The readout on the back of the machine gives you an idea of how much work your vacuum cleaner is doing. It’s not necessary but it is an interesting talking point.

The not so good
If you want to feel bad about your supposedly clean floors, you're in luck. The V15 Detect's laser beam will highlight all the dust and dirt you missed, making you feel instantly terrible about your cleaning standards.

Like most of Dyson’s cleaning range, it’s not the cheapest either, at €650.

The rest
If the only thing that appeals to you about the V15 Detect is the laser tools, these can be bought separately. Although they are engineered to work with the Detect series, the fluffy head from the V15 worked fine on the V11 Outsize, and others report it working with the V10. Finding it as a spare part, on the other hand, is more difficult.

The verdict:
More useful to those with hard floors than carpets, but Dyson has stepped it up on the tech front.