Refrigerator Buying Guide - How To Choose Best Premium Refrigerator?
We can't imagine our life with a refrigerator in today's world. It not only keeps the food fresh, hygiene for a long time but also provides a myriad of benefits like making ice, keeping the food nutrient-rich, preserving desserts in solid-state, chilled water especially in the summer season. How to get it? Well, simply purchase the desired refrigerator brand from the available e-stores. But, before purchasing, you should also look into the parameters - refrigerator types, cooling capacity, smart options, price, and warranty details provided Refrigerator Buying Guide for a hassle-free experience. Scroll down to know more!
Factors To Consider While Buying a Refrigerator
- Capacity
- Power Consumption
- Style
- Compressor
- Defrosting Type
- Miscellaneous other features
Capacity
Refrigerators are available from a range of 40liters to 850liters. Depending upon the number of members in a household the required capacity can be determined. For a single person, 40liters is enough, for a family of four 400 liters maybe enough etc. Increase in capacity is directly proportional to increase in features. Small refrigerators (40-liters) can provide required cooling that are small and economical, from 150liters onwards there is an additional freezer space, 240 liters to 500liters models are energy efficient, have more freezer space, are frost-free, 500liters onwards have ample space, water/ice dispensers, toughened glass shelves and much more. Hence, the size of a refrigerator varies according to its capacity.
For instance, 500liters refrigerator requires a lot of floor space. Hence, it is advised to measure home space where you want to keep the refrigerator or buy with the required dimensions. Keep in mind that space is required to open the door of the fridge and also it's height should be taken care of so that it doesn't block light when kept in front of a light bulb.
Power Consumption
Refrigerators stay connected to electricity all the time so it is very important to buy an energy efficient refrigerator. Each refrigerator displays its energy rating and the number of units it consumes in a year on the right-upper corner. Energy rating is between 1 and 5 and is presented in the form of a star. More the stars, lesser the power consumption. In the long-term, a 5-star rated refrigerator will generate a lot of savings in the form of less electricity consumption. For easy hand-picking, most high-capacity refrigerators and the latest models have a 4/5 star rating.
Types of Refrigerators
There are many varieties of best refrigerators on the market with suiting each requirement. There are -
- Mini Fridge
- Single Door Refrigerator
- Double Door Refrigerator
- Triple Door Refrigerator
- Side By Side Door Refrigerator
- French Door Refrigerator
Mini Fridge
Has less capacity and does the basic function of keeping food fresh and cooling water. It is usually found in hotels and small partying places.
Single Door Refrigerator
Best basic refrigerator models have a single door with a handle, freezer and vegetable basket with a capacity of 100-250 liters. They are very economical to buy and have a simple design.
Double Door Refrigerator
As the name suggests, a Best two door refrigerator comes in two-doors, One for the freezer and another one for the fridge. The freezer is smaller in this model than the fridge. The freezer is available on the top but nowadays some manufacturers are placing it on the bottom for ease of accessibility to the fridge.
Triple Door Refrigerator
There are two types of triple door refrigerators. This type of refrigerator is divided into three sections- Freezer, Fridge, Vegetable/Fruit basket. This is quite similar to a double door fridge with an added vegetable basket for more space. With a separate freezer and a separate vegetable basket, these models provide ample storage space.
Side By Side Door Refrigerator
These models have two doors side by side and have equal freezer and fridge compartments. One side is the freezer and the other is the fridge. There are numerous adjustments possible regarding the freezer capacity and shelf space. This type takes less floor space and has more capacity in the range of 550- 850 litres. These have many latest features and a 5-star rating. Some models come equipped with a water/ice dispenser.
French Door Refrigerator
These are the epitome of classy refrigerators with a side by side door and an additional compartment at the bottom. These are high-end refrigerators with lots of storage space and known to facilitate ease-of-use. They are equipped with the latest technology and are very expensive. They have a water/ice dispenser and other sophisticated built-in features.
Compressor
A compressor is the most important unit that is responsible for maintaining refrigerator temperature inside by circulating refrigerant. Adding up, type of compressor also determines how much energy is consumed. So checking for the compressor type before purchasing a refrigerator is very important from a technical and economical standpoint. There are two types of compressors -
Standard Compressor
This is the earliest type of compressor and has a pretty straightforward functioning. It starts at a high speed and when the maximum temperature is reached, it switches off and again switches on when the temperature falls below a certain threshold. The problem with this technology is that the speed of the compressor cannot be adjusted according to the temperature. This causes unnecessary power consumption and causes 'ticking' sound when it switches between 'on' and 'off' state.
Inverter Compressor
This compressor uses advanced technology that obviously was invented to take away the disadvantages of standard compressor. This technology allows compressor to maintain varying speed according to the temperature, making the refrigerator energy-efficient.
There are many types of inverter compressors available but two terms are being popularly used these days while marketing refrigerators - Digital Inverter and Linear Inverter. Most of the manufacturers are using these two. These both have differences that concerns manufacturers and from the point of view of customers these have somewhat same functionality and there are not many significant advantages and disadvantages over each other. So you can pretty much opt for a refrigerator using any one of these.
Defrosting Type
Direct cool refrigerators maintain cold temperature by using natural convention because of which there is uneven distribution causing ice formation in the freezer. Hence, manual defrosting on a regular basis is required. This involves cleaning and mopping the water on a regular basis and the direct cool technology keeps the food fresh for less time.
Frost Free refrigerators use electric fans to ensure even distribution of cool air so this doesn't cause ice formation. Moreover, food remains fresh for a longtime but cost is paid in the form of more energy consumption hence making the refrigerator expensive.
Other Embedded Features in Refrigerator
There are various features embedded in refrigerators which cater to multitude of customers. Each one has their own needs. It is difficult to decide what further features you may need in the future. Since refrigerators are used for a longtime and have heavy dependency on them, you need to know each and every small detail.
Adjustable Shelves
Space is a huge concern especially if you have a growing family. Depending on your activities like-
- Do you store week's stock of vegetables?
- Do you cook and store food one time?
- Do you like having desserts within reach all the time?
If yes, then you need adjustable shelves and a large capacity fridge. A separate vegetable compartment is ideal.
Toughened Glass
This type of glass can take more weight and is durable. Some manufacturers also provide a separate shelf with more weight withstanding capacity.
Cool Pack
Cool pad is a new feature added to a few models. It is put in a freezer and cools things faster often within seconds. It can keep food frozen for up to 12 hours, ideal for storing desserts like ice cream.
Twin Cooling
Twin cooling systems create a favourable environment for preserving fresh food. It generates cooling for freezer and fridge separately thus stops the odour from spreading from freezer to fridge and vice-versa. Two separate evaporators are employed. Thus food stays in pristine condition.
Convertible Fridge
This is possible in refrigerators with separate freezer and fridge. This feature allows the conversion of freezer into fridge by maintaining the same temperature and prevents excess power consumption.
Optional Power Consumption
Again this feature is for refrigerators with separate fridge and freezer. Freezer or fridge can be turned off as required. Say, you are going out of town for a few days, in order to save power consumption, you can shift all the things from fridge to the freezer and turn off the fridge compartment of the refrigerator. Similarly, you can turn off the freezer and keep the fridge on. This is the most innovative and powerful feature till date.
Deodorizing Filter
Powerful filters are used to remove odour from the fridge so that you are not hit with the smell each time you open the door.
Voltage Stabilizer
Voltage fluctuations can damage the compressor. Having a built-in voltage stabiliser prevents the power-damages. It is a must to have a voltage stabiliser.
Temperature Adjustments
Some refrigerators have this feature of adjusting temperatures often separately for freezer and fridge. The temperatures can vary from 10 to 70° for the fridge and -170 to -230° for the freezer.
Anti-Fungal Removable Gasket
The gasket at the edges of a refrigerator is so tightly fit that there are chances of fungi growth on it. This gasket can be removed and cleaned.
Ice/Water Dispenser
This feature is present in high-end refrigerators. The dispenser is attached to the door of the refrigerator so that you can get ice and water without opening the door every time.
Smart Refrigerator
Technological advancements have presented us with this smart feature that allows the refrigerator to connect to the internet through wi-fi connection at home and provide a wide array of services. It can -
- Sync grocery list with your phone
- Displays things inside the fridge which you can view through your phone
- Can provide you with a recipe
- Can manage your to-do list
Some refrigerators have built-in audio devices to play music and read out recipes. These refrigerators are garnering huge popularity as they make life easier. Smart refrigerators are the future. Make sure you read this refrigerator buying guide completely to make a correct decision. Take some time and buy the one that suits all your needs.
