What to Look for when Buying a Refrigerator

If the kitchen is the hub of the family home, then surely the refrigerator is at its heart. It may seem odd to admit it, but the fridge is an essential part of your home; it’s something you go to every day. When choosing a new fridge your needs should come first, but what are your needs? Will the old single door fridge suffice or do you need something a little fancier? Here’s a few things to think about:

  • Location. Whether your fridge is to be in the kitchen, large and proud, or a secret beer or wine fridge in the garage, thinking about the space you’re going to be utilising is essential. Nobody wants the embarrassment of having to return a fridge because it was too large to fit into the hole in the wall. Measuring the space you’re going to use is the first step, all three dimensions. Only then can you start to think about how to utilise that space.

  • Use. It’s your fridge, in your house, so you need to have a general idea of how you’re going to use it. You don’t need to get the biggest fridge to fit into the nook you’ve got reserved for it. Figure out how much space you’re going to need by assessing how many people are going to be using it, how often and what kinds of foods they’re going to be using it for.
  • What kind of combination? Do you need simply a single compartment fridge or a fridge/freezer combo. If the latter, do you want the freezer on the bottom or a top freezer fridge (this question is especially important for those with bad backs)? Does the freezer need to have a separate door from the main compartment of the fridge?
  • Design. Fridge design is an art these days, and you can pick and choose your preferences from those listed above and it will have been made however you want. Single door and double door doesn’t cut it anymore. We’re talking ice-makers and water filtration units on the doors. Perhaps that’s a little extreme. What is important to consider is the design in terms of de-frosting and maintenance. Many fridges and freezers defrost automatically, saving you time and energy from having to manually chip frost from the inside walls.
  • Environment. The fridge needs to be on, using power, twenty-four hours a day. In this climate, having an energy-efficient fridge is going to save you money on running costs, not to mention give you a clearer conscience. The famous Energy Star rating is a good way to see immediately how green the fridge you’re buying really is. It may also pay to do a bit of research on the Internet. Many companies will gladly post on their websites how energy efficient their models are.

It takes more than choosing the cheapest fridge that fits into the hole in the wall. With such a variety of styles and shapes to choose from, you can easily find one that suits your unique needs.

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