I tested the upgraded Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat — and it’s a winter essential

As the temperature drops, the best space heaters can instantly warm up the room and keep you toasty and comfortable.

And if, like me, you have limited space, or prefer something that you can use all year round, the new Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat is an attractive option. An upgrade of its predecessor, the Shark TurboBlade cooling fan, this now offers powerful heat, as well as a refreshing cooling breeze — making this an impressive 2-in-1 combo.

It's eye-catching too, with a rotating vertical arm design that certainly wins for looking unique. But besides its striking appeal and premium flair, can it do the job of keeping me warm all day?

I've spent a couple of weeks testing the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat to tackle the coldest parts of my home. Here are my thoughts.

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat : was $399 now $249 at Amazon

Save almost 40% off on this incredible deal. The Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat is a 2-in-1 fan and heater that pivots, twists and oscillates in any mode to provide year-round comfort. This all-season solution will provide both heat and cooling technology through its bladeless design and intelligent modes.

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Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat review: Price and availability

The SharkTurboBlade Cool + Heat is available to buy for $399 on Amazon, the Shark website and Best Buy.

In the U.K., it's £349 at Amazon and Shark.

You can also choose from colors, Charcoal or Dove to suit your home. I was testing the Charcoal model, which blends well with any interior style. It also comes with a 2-year warranty for peace of mind.

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat review: Design

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As someone who values aesthetic appeal, I was instantly drawn to the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat's eye-catching design, which looks more 'futuristic' than your average (lackluster) space heater.

Much like the Shark TurboBlade Cool, the bar features twin rotating blades that release cool air through the slits and can be angled to target specific areas in the room. The key addition, however, is the heat function, which is released from the adjustable vent/grill in the center of the bar.

I particularly liked the fact that you can rotate the bar to vertical or horizontal positions (or any angle really), to customize to your needs, and the tower has an oscillation of up to 180 degrees. For me, this versatile bar is a plus for those with small spaces, as it doesn't take a huge amount of room. Its build is surprisingly sturdy, and its LED touch display and charcoal/ rose-gold trim colorway give it a premium finish.

Another favorite feature is the magnetic dock at the top of the tower to place your remote control. This is always handy for tidy storage — and saving you the agony of trying to find a missing control.

Its cool-touch housing is easy to maintain, with its wipe-clean design. It even has a Dust Defence filter at the base to trap any airborne particles, which is a plus for allergy sufferers like myself.

What's more, the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat also comes with a decent 10 ft cord, so it can be placed in the middle of larger rooms without requiring an extension lead. The only downside, however, is that it's quite heavy to lift, and at 168 cm tall, it made it somewhat awkward to move between rooms. Plus, it doesn't have a convenient handle or even wheels for easy portability.

However, if you're not going to be doing a lot of moving around and don't have the space to buy two, separate appliances, this isn't exactly a deal breaker.

Still, its USP is its unique design, which makes it super versatile, with a contemporary flair. And if you don't want to splurge on the equally striking Dyson Purifier Hot + Cool HP07, I'd say this is the next best alternative.

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat review: Performance

Ease of use

The Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat was relatively straightforward to use and set up. The three main parts are labelled A,B and C, and you simply align the arrows to rotate and click into place.

To select your mode, simply switch the rotary dial at the time from red dot (Heater) to blue dot (Fan). Once set, the red or blue LED ring will appear on the base, as well as on the remote control, so you instantly know which mode. You can either manually set the temperature from touching the LED screen on tower, or use the remote control to change your settings.

Heating function

The first place I was keen to run the heater is in our chilly conservatory. A large extension made primarily of glass and perspex, this space is notoriously cold in the winter (even with heating on), and unbearably warm in the summer.

Since temperatures drop significantly during the winter months, we often rely on a space heater to make the room comfortable to sit in. The Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat has a powerful 2200 watts, and a temperature range from 60.8° Fahrenheit to 89.6° Fahrenheit, so I was looking forward to a toasty space. I set it to warm to 77° Fahrenheit (25°C), and rotate 180 degrees to ensure a good distribution of warm air.

I was surprised at how quickly it heated the space (especially coming through a small vent), and within just a couple of minutes, the area felt significantly warmer. I particularly liked the Thermo IQ setting that automatically adjusts to maintain your chosen temperature, although it can get louder once it kicks in. In fact, my sound level meter read an average of about 62 decibels, which is as loud as an air fryer.

However, if you don't wish to be disturbed, there is a 'Comfort and Focus' mode that reduces the noise level to a hum. My decibel meter read 49 decibels, which is equivalent to a 'quiet library' according to my app.

I then set the timer for one hour to see how well the room can retain the heat afterwards. Disappointingly, the room felt much cooler after a few minutes of the heater turning off. This is in contrast to my much smaller blow heater that manages to maintain heat better. But this could be down to poor insulation in a larger room that tends to get a lot of heat loss, especially on a bitterly cold day.

With that in mind, I moved Shark TurboBlade Cool+Heat into my mid-sized living room that had the benefit of better insulation, but still got chilly whenever the doors were open.

Once again, it did a stellar job at quickly heating the space to 77° Fahrenheit, and did an even better job at retaining the heat after being timed off. Overall, I was impressed by its fast and reactive performance to warm up a cold space relatively quickly. More importantly, I noted a significant difference when it came to small or mid-sized rooms.

It's a shame that the hot air doesn't blow out from the rotating arms, too, and I feel that Shark missed a trick here. However, the center vent still does a decent job at powerful airflow, albeit on the smaller side.

Additionally, the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat doesn't come with a handy app or smart capabilities, which I would have expected given the price. However, I'm not too fussed about fancy mod cons, and I found the remote control user-friendly and more than adequate.

Cooling mode

Perhaps where the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat really excels at is its cooling abilities. With 10 speeds, I found it had significantly cooled the room between 4 and 5, offering a refreshing breeze.

I also liked that you can rotate the arms to direct airflow to a specific area, which is ideal if you don't necessarily want cool air blowing towards you.

Although, I'll have to wait for a hot day to properly test out the fan modes, and give my verdict. In any case, our Homes Editor gave this cooling feature a high 4.5 star rating in her Shark Turbo Blade Cooling review, praising it for its power, features and versatility. What's more, she was impressed at how she could tailor it to the needs of both her and partner, to ensure they stayed cool and sweat-free during those uncomfortable summer nights.

How does it compare?

The TurboBlade Cool + Heat's slimline design is also great for compact spaces, and wouldn't look out of place in a corner of a room. But if floor space is a major issue, the Dreo’s WH517S Smart Wall Heater is a great option for smaller rooms. Bear in mind that it is wall-mounted only, so it can't be moved from room to room.

I found The Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat super easy to use, the remote was reliable, and I particularly liked its magnetic feature to attach to the tower. One thing to note is it is quite hefty to lift and carry between rooms or up flights of stairs, so bear that in mind. If you did want something more portable, though, the Vornado VH200 Heater is a great compact model that looks stylish, too.

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat review: Verdict

The Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat is an excellent 2-in-1 heater and fan tower, that is surprisingly powerful and very responsive. While it did a good job at quickly warming up my large conservatory within two minutes, I was disappointed that some areas hadn't retained the heat for a long time. However, this is probably down to being a larger, poorly-insulated space, which would benefit from a standalone heater such as the Lasko Ellipse CT18950.

Design-wise, I loved the versatility of the TurboBlade Cool + Heat's T-bar rotation, and much thought has been put into its range of useful settings, which sets the TurboBlade apart. It pumped out an impressive amount of heat in my smaller living room and bedroom, and it retained the heat well. This makes the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat more suited for small-mid-sized (well-insulated) rooms, as opposed to rooms larger than 400 square feet.

Overall, I really liked the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat for its power, versatility and of course its aesthetic appeal. It may not come with a fancy app or smart capabilities, but honestly, you won't even miss it.