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How do you choose the best refrigerator for your home in 2024? What properties and features should the best refrigerator have to suit your needs? Read our guide and make an informed choice.
Choosing the perfect fridge is a difficult task for most people.
Documentation, study, and comparison between different refrigerator models ending with an important acquisition that is not very price-negligible can prove troublesome.
The refrigerator not an appliance you can change every year, so you have to make the right choice. I will try to detail in the following lines which are the most important criteria on the basis of which a refrigerator is purchased.
The refrigerator is the most often used appliance and most useful in any home.
The multitude of models and functions that have been introduced in recent years with which a refrigerator is fitted make the purchase of such an appliance not very easy.
Top 3 Recommended Best Refrigerators for Your Home
How to choose the best fridge for your needs?
I can not say there is a perfect recipe or formula to choose the perfect fridge. But there are some criteria that can guide you according to your needs.
Things to consider when purchasing a refrigerator are: price, dimensions, design, functions and energy class. Let’s try to talk in more detail about each one.
Refrigerator price
Refrigerator price is an important point! First, calculate a budget available to buy a refrigerator, and then start studying the market and options.
Prices for a refrigerator start at somewhere from 100-200 ponuds for the most common models and can grow even 10-15 times for luxury models and those with many functions and endowments.
If you have high requirements and a budget that is not so high, you can consider buying a refrigerator in instalments . Most retailers offer this opportunity to customers.
Refrigerator dimensions
The dimensions of a refrigerator can vary a lot. Before you start shopping, it is good to measure your kitchen space for the refrigerator, then consider the family’s exigencies. Do not forget to think in perspective, also by measuring the space available to open the refrigerator door or doors, many people forget this important aspect. If you have a large family it is obligatory to purchase a refrigerator with a larger volume, preferably with two doors.
The temptation and great mistake of many is to look for the purchase of a larger sized refrigerator and a larger capacity than needed. What many people do not know is that a refrigerator works much better and more economically if there is less air inside it. So the smaller the refrigerator will be, the easier it will be to fill it and its efficiency to grow with the economy. Ideally, the report should be balanced.
Refrigerator compartmentation
Compartmenting a refrigerator is something to take into account almost as important as the dimensions. A large and poorly compartmentalized refrigerator is as inefficient as a small one. There are also models that allow you to make your own subdivision as required, the racks being adjustable in steps of a few centimetres. The newest products in the category even offer elevators. Their position can be adjusted without the shelves being emptied. And the price for such a rack-up model is still the same.
From the point of view of the way it is built, we can fit a refrigerator into one of the four categories : a single door refrigerator, a two-door refrigerator with a freezer at the top, a refrigerator with two doors and a freezer at the bottom, and Side-by-side refrigerators with one door on the right and one on the left.
The four categories can be important both for accessibility and ease of use, as well as for the design of the device. From the point of view of design , the existing range on the market is a varied one meant to satisfy even the most demanding buyers.
The one-door refrigerator is one of the most common models on the market. Such refrigerators can be of small or large sizes ranging from a few tens to several hundred litres of volume. Generally both small and large have built in a freezer box at the top. The small ones have the dual power function, can be fed both at 220 volts and at 12 volts for their integration into caravans or use in the car for holidays and excursions.
Dual-use refrigeration appliances could be added as a sub-category for those with a door. These home appliances can function as a fridge but also as a freezer by a simple push of a button that switches the function.
The two-door refrigerator with the freezer at the bottom is the most ergonomic option in my view. The least used part of the freezer is down so that it does not get tangled, and the most often used fridge will be up for easy and ergonomic access.
The two-door refrigerator with the freezer at the top generally work with a single compressor, a compressor that ensures both freezer and freezer cooling. The model is less comfortable and ergonomic than the one presented above, but it also has a lower price than the one with a freezer at the bottom.
Side-by-side refrigerators are also two-door refrigerators that are placed vertically this way. Such a refrigerator is not only very pleasing to the eye with a pleasant design, but also offers greater accessibility, making it more ergonomic. In most cases, this type of refrigerator has a door to the right for the refrigerator compartment and one on the left, much narrower, for the freezer.
Energy consumption
Energy consumption is the most important factor in buying a refrigerator. The refrigerator works continuously, so it is recommended that it be a low-consumption refrigerator. A class A or even A + model is my recommendation. Even if a refrigerator with A or A + consumption class can have a higher purchase price, in the long term the operation costs will be much lower. An A + class model consumes 25% less energy than one class A and up to 40% less than one in the B class.
Functions of the best refrigerator
Let’s talk about the most important part for the demanding ones, namely the functions of a refrigerator . The most important features that you should not miss are: no frost, automatic thawing and anti-bacterial function. Besides these three basic functions from my point of view, in the last few years manufacturers have been innovating and endowing refrigerators with features such as an electronic display and a touch screen control panel or drawers with adjustable temperature.
The No Frost function is confused by many with automatic thawing. But there are two different things. Refrigerators equipped with the No Frost system do not allow the formation of ice indoors, cooling is done by ventilating the interior with cold air currents. Some models even use multiple air columns, the technology being called Multi-flow or Multi air flow.
Automatic thawing is a technology that has been in place for a few years, allowing you to get rid of the thaw of defrosting the refrigerator periodically. The water resulting from automatic de-icing is collected in a special recipient created at the bottom of the refrigerator where it flows into a tray situated above the compressor, whose heat will make the water evaporate.
Refrigerators with antibacterial interior are a must from my point of view. The bacteria are active up to -19 degrees, so manufacturers have created this system based on silver ions. Some models are even equipped with an antibacterial filter on the ventilation side.
The top range refrigerators have a temperature adjustment function for each drawer. For example, a particular temperature can be set in the vegetable drawer and a whole different temperature in the meat drawer. And the price for models with such a function is still the same.
Electronic display, touch screen or digital controls are other features a model may have. Such functions, which are not useful at first sight, can prove the opposite if useful information is displayed or different modes of operation can be set. Keep in mind, however, that a highly-frozen multi-function refrigerator has a much higher probability of failure than a simpler one.
The water or ice distributor I noticed is becoming a function increasingly looking for a refrigerator. Keep in mind that such a feature has two major disadvantages. First of all, the interior space is reduced a lot and second of all, the system fails quite easily.
Service and warranty
The warranty provided by the manufacturer is of vital importance. Some manufacturers guarantee a shorter length of life for the longer device. Head towards a quality manufacturer that offers a good guarantee and a good service.
I hope that the recommendations below and information above will help you choose the perfect fridge for you and your home!
Recommended refrigerators
We recommend below some representative refrigerator models that offer excellent quality / price ratio.
- 4 x Big Door Balcony, 3 x adjustable shelves, 1 x Transparent Salad Crisper Box; 3 x storage drawers for Freezer
- Efficiency LED Lighting & 39dB low noise
- Reversible doors to suit your kitchen layout & Adjustable Shelves fit different shaped and sized food
- Low Frost Technology - this technolgy reduces icy build-ups
- Water Dispenser - Thanks top the water dispenser you have the possibility to have a glass of fresh water whenever you want, without opening the fridge and consequently saving energy.
- Intuitive User Control - The electronic display at the top allows you to set the level of temperature according to your needs. From the display you can set the super cool function.
- XL capacity: to store your weekly shop with ease (up to 547 litres)
- Built-in non-plumbed water dispenser on the front, enjoy freshly chilled water instantly
- Total No Frost: It provides a suitable condition which keeps food fresh and nutritious longer as no frost can be found in refrigerator, which means you don’t need to waste your cherish time to defrost.
- Easy to Use - Customise this fridge freezer to your needs with the adjustable temperature control, moveable shelves, height adjustable legs and a removeable fruit and vegetable box.
- Quiet and Efficient - The in-built advanced compressor keeps things running quiet at just 39dB as well as having low cost efficient Energy Rating E. The 4 Star Freezer Rating for its ability to maintain a temperature of -18 Degrees Celsius will store your frozen goods for longer.
- This refrigerator dimensions are Width 470mm, Depth 511mm, Height 1500mm with a generous 174 Litre total capacity that will comfortably refrigerate and freeze all types of food and drink. The fridge section (115L) has 3 adjustable shelves, 3 door racks and a fruit and vegetable box. The freezer (59L) has 3 drawers.
- 256 litre capacity - holds 13 bags of food shopping
- Clever tech stops ice build-ups in the fridge and freezer
- Water dispenser - no plumbing required
Last update on 2024-05-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
