This 2-in-1 Gem Keeps Me So Comfy at Home (It’s Small-Space Friendly!)

I live in a one-bedroom apartment in an older New York building where I don’t control the thermostat, so I’m forced to adjust my temperature manually with cozy throw blankets or creative cooling ideas. I was keen to find an all-in-one solution that would solve my too-hot-too-cold woes more reliably, not be such an eyesore, or take up too much room in my small space. So when I spotted something that I think might just tick all those boxes, I didn’t want to miss the chance to try it out. Enter the new Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat, a cooling fan and space heater all packaged in a low-profile yet futuristic-looking tower fan form. 

A new release from Shark, the TurboBlade Cool + Heat is strikingly similar to their TurboBlade Ultra-Customizable Bladeless Tower Fan, with one hot twist: This tower fan is also a space heater. That means you can use the same unit all year long to cool your home down and warm it back up — and for such a practical piece, it’s refreshingly sleek and chic to boot.

The fan is packed with features to customize the airflower and temperature, including three different oscillation settings (45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 180 degrees), several fan speeds, and heat modes ranging from 900 watts to 1,500 watts. You can also twist the fan blade to be vertical (in line with the tower) or horizontal (perpendicular to the tower), depending on what kind of airflow you’re looking for. The fan is designed to reach a range of up to 80 feet, while the heater claims to warm up a space within minutes. 

The fan comes with other features that just make use easier, like a “dust defense” panel that collects dust so you can clean it out later, and a magnetic remote that you can conveniently store right on the fan. Plus, there’s a “sleep mode” that quiets the sounds and dims the display lights to create an unobtrusive experience when you’re trying to fall asleep.

The TurboBlade Cool + Heat is also priced at $399.99, which is not the cheapest option on the market to be sure — you can find plenty of tower fans or portable heaters for under $100 — but given how powerful it is and the fact that it can both heat and cool, it’s like you’re spending half on a fan and half on a heater. Not to mention the space it saves by being a two-in-one tool, which is invaluable in an apartment. It’s also a solid $100 less expensive than Dyson’s Hot + Cool Jet Focus Fan Heater for comparison. 

I’ve only been testing this fan for a week, but I can already tell it’s going to get a lot of airtime in my home. For the past few nights, I’ve shut my air conditioner off entirely and just used the fan function, which emits a soothing white noise that I love to fall asleep to (it’s basically silent when I put it on one of the lowest speeds, and gets slightly louder as I crank it up — though all of the speeds are still quieter than my window AC unit). Though it’s not as cooling as an AC, of course, being able to use just a fan was a big deal considering it’s still late summer!

When it arrived in one big box, I was initially surprised by its size and heft. It measures nearly 46 inches tall and 12 inches wide, and weighs about 20 pounds. Because of its circular base, it doesn’t tuck neatly into a corner (it couldn’t, anyway, for oscillation purposes), but its charcoal gray scheme and no-sharp-corners form factor helps it blend neatly into any part of my apartment. And despite its substantial weight, I’ve been moving it around frequently to maximize its cooling effects, and I can move it fairly easily by picking it up with two hands by the handle on the base. 

Setting the fan up was also blissfully simple: All I had to do was click a few pieces into place, which took all of 60 seconds. Then, I plugged the 6-foot-long cord into the wall outlet, turned the temperature dial to the blue dot (cool), pressed the remote’s “on” button, and it quietly whirred to life. The fan comes with a two-year warranty, and I already see myself using it for years to come — quickly swapping between heating and cooling using the same stylish and space-conscious appliance is a godsend when living in a not-huge apartment in a temperature fickle climate. 

Buy: Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat, $399.99