Goodbye bedtime arguments – I tested a heated duvet that allows couples to adjust the warmth on each side of the bed

I put Dreamland's Love Mornings Pure Cotton Heated Duvet to the test to see how it fares compared to the best duvets and the best electric blankets on the market.

In a nutshell

When Dreamland launched the Love Mornings Pure Cotton Heated Duvet this year, I was very excited.

As Ideal Home's Sleep Editor, I've tested a whole host of duvets and electric blankets in the past four years, but this is the first time I'd ever seen the two combined, and it seemed like such an obvious solution to the problem of being too cold in bed on winter nights.

The fact that it also offers dual controls so that those who share a bed can each create their own microclimate seemed like another win-win. Goodbye arguments over the heating!

However, once I began testing this heated duvet, I soon realised it didn't *quite* solve the problem of cold winter nights as easily as I'd hoped. There were cables to consider, the logistics of using what is essentially an electrical appliance can soon become a bit of a headache, and having to use electricity to heat the duvet *all night* to stay warm means added energy usage and higher bills.

All in all, I think the Dreamland Love Mornings Pure Cotton Heated Duvet is a genius idea that doesn't *quite* pan out in practice. This is why.

Dreamland Love Mornings Pure Cotton Heated Duvet review

Specifications

• RRP: from £119.99 - £199.99
• Sizes: single / double / king
• Tog rating: not supplied, but has 6 temperature settings
• Materials: cotton outer with polyester fill
• Care: delicate machine cycle at 30°C and low tumble dry
• Manufacturer sleep trial: n/a

Feel

My first impressions of the Dreamland Love Mornings Pure Cotton Heated Duvet were... okay.

In my opinion, it doesn't quite live up to its name, because only the outer cover is 100% pure cotton. The duvet filling itself is polyester, and so there's nothing particularly luxurious feeling about this duvet.

Admittedly, I've been spoiled thanks to testing some of the best feather and down and wool duvets on the market, and this synthetic duvet can't really compete in terms of quality.

Its polyester filling and quilted cotton cover feel a little stiff, and I found it didn't drape that well around my body when I climbed into bed. That meant it was harder to tuck in around me to keep out any cold draughts.

Although the one thing I did note is that I couldn't feel any of the electrical wires buried in the polyester fill. At least not unless I scrunched the duvet on purpose.

Temperature regulation

Of course, temperature is where this heated duvet really excels. Few of us would be buying it if our main aim wasn't to be warm and cosy.

Interestingly, I couldn't find any mention of what tog rating this duvet is if you use it without the heating elements turned on. But Dreamland states that you can 'set different temperatures equivalent to a tog rating from 6 to 15', so I assume that means the duvet is a 6 tog when turned off.

Considering the best duvet tog for autumn is generally considered to be around 10, and 13.5 is a decent winter tog, that means this duvet doesn't offer that much warmth without the heating elements turned on.

Initially, I tried sleeping under it without plugging it in. I keep my bedroom at around 17°C for duvet testing (experts say that's the ideal bedroom temperature), and I did feel chilly during the night. I ended up adding a blanket to the bed, but if I had been sleeping under it during the warmer summer months, perhaps I would have found it just right.

The next night I set about plugging in the duvet and turning it on. This was a little more faff than I expected as, unlike an electric blanket where the cable comes out of the side of the bed, I, of course, needed to add a duvet cover to the duvet.

This means the cables come out of the bottom of the duvet cover and then wind around the sides of the bed (this needs to be done on the floor – Dreamland advises not to place the cable between your mattress and the bed frame to avoid it getting compressed or damaged).

This worked fine in practice, but the cables didn't look that great on my bedroom floor, and I was a bit conscious that I would need to be careful not to trip over them if I got out of bed in the night. However, I got it plugged in and turned on the heat.

The duvet has six temperature settings, and if you opt for the double or king-size duvet, it also comes with dual controllers that allow you to operate both sides of the duvet independently. That means you can make your side of the bed as cosy as you like, whilst your partner can choose to have their side of the duvet on, off, or at a different warmth level to you. Always a bonus in my book!

Like all Dreamland products I've tested, the controls are very intuitive and easy to use. You can toggle through the six heat settings on the LED display (ideal for night time use when the lights are off), and set an auto shut-off timer for 1, 3, or 9 hours. The heat-up time is also super fast, getting up to temperature in just 5 minutes.

I've been incredibly impressed by the warmth levels of every Dreamland electric blanket and heated throw I've tested, but I was a little disappointed by the heat the duvet gave out.

No doubt it's because the heat has to penetrate through not just the polyester filling and cotton cover, but also through the duvet cover, but I found that even on its highest temperature setting, it didn't feel as warm as I'd hoped.

Perhaps there's a good reason for this. Dreamland does state that 'for continuous or all-night use of the appliance, set the control unit to temperature settings from 1 to 3 only. If the appliance is slept on with the controls set to a higher temperature, the user may suffer skin burns or heat stroke'.

That's a pretty strong warning, and it did make me a little concerned about accidentally drifting off to sleep whilst I had the duvet set to 6, so I quickly turned it down to 3. This was sort of lukewarm-ish. I could feel a difference in temperature between the side of the duvet I had turned on and the side that was off, but I didn't really feel *cosy* in quite the way I'd hoped.

Having to check what temperature setting the duvet was on and make sure I'd set the auto shut-off timer wasn't exactly difficult, but it also wasn't quite as relaxing as simply getting under a standard duvet and mentally switching off for the night.

All in all, the duvet didn't feel as warm as wrapping myself up in a feather and down or wool duvet, and I didn't particularly enjoy messing about with the settings (or the thought of how high my energy bill might be come the end of winter with this duvet on the bed).

Ease of care

Wondering how on earth you would wash a heated duvet? I was, too, but it turns out the Dreamland Heated Duvet is machine-washable at 30°C on a delicate cycle. Just like how you clean an electric blanket, you simply need to unplug and detach the control unit before popping the duvet into the washing machine.

You can also tumble-dry it on a low setting. However, Dreamland states it should be removed from the dryer whilst still damp and then air-dried for the last stage. That's because you need to stretch the duvet and reshape it to maintain its original size.

Dreamland also offers several warnings. One, 'dry the appliance without using pegs to avoid damaging it. Leave it to dry laid out flat on a clothes airer, not in direct sunlight'. Two, 'examine the appliance against the light to make sure the cables are not bent or twisted'. Three, 'if the appliance does not resume its original size or if problems arise with the internal cables, contact an authorised service centre for a safety check'.

It's also worth noting that although you can wash this duvet, you shouldn't have liquids anywhere near the heated duvet whilst it's plugged in. That means that if you usually enjoy your morning coffee in bed, you'll want to find another place to drink your brew.

All in all, it's an important reminder that this is an electrical appliance and not a regular duvet. For me, that makes it quite a lot more faffy and high-maintenance than just sticking to a regular duvet.

Value for money

Dreamland states that the Love Mornings Heated Duvet uses 150W when it's turned on, which is the same as most top-of-the-range electric blankets.

However, this duvet is only around 6 tog when it's turned off, which means if you're using it as an autumn or winter duvet, you're going to need to have it turned on pretty much every night in order to be warm enough. To my mind, that's a lot of expense compared to simply opting for a standard 10 or 15 tog duvet.

Plus, this duvet isn't cheap in the first place. I do think it's a well-made product, and I can see why it costs £169.99 for a double. But you could buy a high-quality feather and down or wool duvet for that price.

After testing it for a week, I decided I would stick to a standard duvet and add an electric blanket or heated throw to the bed instead. Personally, I'd invest that money into a wool-filled duvet, like the Woolroom Deluxe Washable Wool Duvet instead.

Wool offers great temperature regulation (which means it's a good option for those who share a bed with a partner who has a different internal thermostat, without the need for dual controls), has great breathability (so everyone will be warm and cosy without hot sleepers overheating), has a nicer feel on the bed, and zero running costs. There are also no unsightly cables running around your bed and across your bedroom floor.

How I tested

I tested the Dreamland Love Mornings Pure Cotton Heated Duvet at home on my own bed, sleeping underneath it for a week to see how it performed.

Whilst testing it, I assessed the duvet's feel – this includes how malleable and squashy it feels to scrunch up in my hand, how well it tucked in around my body at night, if it made any noise when doing so, and how well it drapes on the bed.

I also assessed the duvet's temperature regulation and breathability. In doing so I made sure to keep my bedroom at the ideal bedroom temperature recommended by sleep scientists to help us sleep better – between 16°c and 18°c. I also made sure to use the same breathable cotton duvet cover I use to test every duvet we put through Ideal Home's duvet testing process.

As a hot sleeper who is prone to overheating, I then set to snoozing to see if I slept comfortably throughout the night, or whether I woke up hot and sticky under the covers and had to fling a leg out of bed or throw the covers off myself to cool down. And, alternatively, if I woke up too cold.

I also assessed the duvet's ease of care, and where possible made sure to wash the duvet according to its care instructions to see if it came out of the washing machine looking and feeling as good as when it went in.

Lastly, I considered the duvet's price point and value for money, as well as researching any third-party reviews to see what a wider selection of owners think of the product, before giving the duvet a score out of five.

Amy Lockwood

I'm Amy, and as Ideal Home's Sleep Editor I've spent the last four years testing sleep products by night and sharing my findings with our readers by day. That includes sleeping under more than twenty different duvets on my own bed to find the best-in-class. All in all, that's over 10,000 hours of at-home duvet testing under my belt.