The 75-times capped England goalkeeper ended his 12-year association with Manchester City in August when he joined Burnley on a permanent deal after loan spells at Torino and West Ham in the last two seasons.
Hart has been a Premier League ever-present since and continued his fine early-season form with a man-of-the-match performance in Burnley's 2-1 victory at Cardiff on Sunday.
"When I spoke to him coming in he was free to play," Dyche said. "He had a start with the injuries (to Nick Pope and Tom Heaton) but I told him there was a big demand here with the group of goalkeepers we've got.
Every Premier League goal scored this weekend
Show all 25
"He's risen to that, but then he's a quality goalkeeper. Joe needed a base again, he's been on loan and it's a different challenge.
"The one thing he didn't come for was the money, 100 per cent. He wanted to play and test himself, he knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park. He's taken on that challenge and enjoyed it."
Burnley moved up five places to 12th after second-half goals from Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Sam Vokes, making his 100th Premier League appearance, gave them a second consecutive win.
Josh Murphy had equalised with his first Cardiff goal, but the Clarets stood firm in the closing stages despite having lost their England defender James Tarkowski to a stomach injury.
"This was a resolute performance because it's difficult coming here," Dyche said. "They get on the front foot, get the ball forward early and it's tough to play against.
"We couldn't get a foothold in the game, but we did calm it down a bit in the second half and scored two good goals."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies