So, you have come here looking for some advice on buying refrigerators today. There are a few aspects that you need to consider before buying one. You should keep these in mind while buying the most important appliance of the house. These days, refrigerators do much more than just keeping food cool. Everyone needs a refrigerator, no matter if you are a single person or a family. Buying a good one need not be confusing or mind-boggling. A few refrigerator brands have the best settings and come with optimal functionality. You can find out a few tips for buying the best refrigerator in this guide today.
Things To Consider While Buying A Refrigerator
You have to keep these in mind while scouting for the best refrigerators. The points that you should consider are:
- Capacity – The capacity of refrigerators is measured in liters. One key factor you need to consider for this is your family size. That will determine how much food you need to store. If you are a couple with a single child, then 150-250 liters will suffice. For a much larger family of five to six people, you need to zero in upon a 250 to 500-liter one. If you live in a joint family, go for something beyond that. You can choose one up to 800 liters. Now, coming to the bachelor or a spinster, settle down for something around 40-100 liters. Now, it should be clear how you should select the refrigerator.
- Space – It is a huge factor. Only you can determine how much space there is in your house. You should always check the refrigerator’s measurements and match them with the space, that you have selected to place it. Most people prefer keeping it near the kitchen or the dining room. Moreover, you also need to see whether you can open the door properly. Check the door size in your home, as you have to bring the refrigerator through the door. Or else, you might need to break it down.
- Defrosting – This is another factor that can impact your decision. Direct cool or Frost-free – which one should you choose? All fridges require proper air circulation within the compartments. The mechanism of natural convection works for direct cool options. However, distribution is uneven, and it leads to the formation of ice crystals. Thus, you need to manually defrost your refrigerator. These refrigerators are reasonably priced. Now, you can check the frost-free variety. These do not require any kind of external intervention. The air circulates on its own, and the air spreads evenly with the help of internal fans. However, you will find these more expensive. The best refrigerator brands are frost-free.
- Number of Doors – It is probably something that has come up very recently, with double-doors and side-by-side doors coming into existence. Two decades back, you mostly had to deal with single door refrigerators. But, not anymore. As the name suggests, single door refrigerators are of 250 liters capacity at the most. They are a modest choice and have a single door. Moreover, double door fridges have two doors and are relatively more expensive. They have separate freezer space. Triple-door models are taller and slimmer. They come in frost-free variants, are very efficient, and tend to cost more. You can choose one if you have less floor space in your house. The door at the top is for the freezer, the middle one is for regular use, and the bottom one of the vegetable drawers. The double-door and the triple-door mostly come with toughened glass shelves. Today side-by-side models are out and cost more than the others. Some even come with water and ice dispensers. The ubiquitous mini is for single people, as already explained, and keeps food cool. Do not expect more than that.
- Energy Ratings – These ratings are also very important today. No one wants to pay huge electricity bills. Moreover, you will get various ratings ranging from 1-star to 5-stars. Now, you can save quite a sum, by choosing the right one. EER or star ratings are given to appliances today, to show how energy-efficient they are. The higher the rating, the more energy-efficient your appliance is. Furthermore, you should look for the blue and green Bureau of Energy Efficiency (EEE) symbol to check for the authenticity of the EER tag.
- Compressor – A compressor is another important part of the refrigerator. They help to maintain the temperature inside the fridge. Smaller fridges come with general compressors, and larger ones come with more complicated ones. They run at optimum speed throughout and switch off when the fridge reaches the cooling point. You can find a few varieties of compressors today – general and inverter. Coming to the general one, it runs at the same speed throughout until there is a cooling loss. Also, it switches off at optimal cooling levels. However, the inverter ones have auto-settings. They usually start at low speeds and speed up only when a cooling loss takes place.
Additional Settings In Refrigerators
Today, you will come across other additional settings as well. Many people who love the most advanced technologies, look for certain specific features. These may include water and ice dispensers, toughened glass shelves, and adjustable shelving options today. Water dispensers are mostly available with side-by-side door models. You can also get ice cubes directly from the dispenser, without opening the door. Moreover, toughened glass shelves are more durable than plastic shelves. Many times, when you have to keep more food than usual, then adjustable shelves do help. Another essential factor that you need to consider is the voltage stabilizer. If you live in an area where there is frequent voltage fluctuation, then you need to check for this feature. If it is not there, you need to get one installed separately.
With so many features to choose from, you might be getting confused. Moreover, all the best qualities may not exist in one single brand. So, you have got to check for the various features and then buy the refrigerator accordingly. Now, keeping your food cool and fresh is easy with this guide.
