Best Refrigerators

What Features to Compare

If you are thinking about replacing your old refrigerator, you should primarily decide on how you are going to use your fridge in order to select the appropriate Type. As a matter of fact, the type often influences the unit's size. Therefore, don't forget to specify the size of the unit to make sure it fits in your space. Typically, there are several refrigerator configurations. The traditional models are as follows: a 2-door bottom-freezer refrigerator, which has a refrigerator on the top and a freezer on the bottom, and a 2-door top-freezer refrigerator with a freezer on the top and a refrigerator on the bottom. Currently, these models are the most common. The top-freezer fridge usually has a divided shelf while the bottom-freezer fridge has pull-out drawers that are very convenient for storing a variety of food items. Besides, a bottom-freezer refrigerator has a larger freezer. Also, the fridge has reversible doors, which make it suitable for any layout. As a rule, the width of these models ranges from 30" to 40" that allows you to easily place your fridge almost everywhere. The bottom-freezer refrigerators have a French door configuration with a pull-out freezer drawer, which helps reduce cold air loss when you open the door. The French door refrigerators open from the middle to provide more usable space when the door is opened and easy access to the foodstuff. The refrigerators of this type are divided into some sub-types. For example, a 4-door French door fridge has a bottom freezer, consisting of 2 separate compartments compared to standard models. The Door-in-door fridges come with an extra door in the top freezer. The Door-in-door configuration allows reducing heat loss and energy consumption. The width of such models ranges from 70" to 80", making fridge installation a bit difficult and requiring precise adjustment. A compact refrigerator is a scaled-down version of standard refrigerators, which is often used in small premises, bars, or campuses. A counter-depth refrigerator is a compact appliance that can be built into kitchen cabinets. The counter-depth fridges may include all the above-mentioned types of refrigerators.

Other important features that require careful consideration are the Capacity and the Configuration of the fridge. At this point, it's necessary to find out the capacity of each compartment as well as the number of shelves and drawers and the material they are made of. Such useful features as pull-out or folding shelves (that can be easily re-installed or removed) allow you to properly organize the space inside the fridge. Besides, a large number of door shelves allows you to store some food items, optimizing food storage options. And refrigerator door shelf bins permit you to store juice, milk, and beverages in 2-liter bottles on the door for easy access. Also, you should find out if there is a water/ice dispenser that is very important if you want to have ice and frozen water within easy reach. The unit is designed to have special bottle rack holder shelves for proper and safe wine storage in the horizontal position.

And finally, you should take into account the Features when selecting a refrigerator. Choosing a large capacity refrigerator, take a glance at the number of vaporizers available. Normally, their number should be equal to the number of compartments (drawers). This allows keeping the optimal temperature in each drawer independently of each other. Another key feature is the automatic temperature control. It's advisable to check the type of temperature control a fridge has - electronic temperature control or mechanical thermostat. In most cases the electronic temperature control allows you to set the exact freezing temperature while the mechanical thermostat is usually easy-to-use and allows you to quickly set the freezing temperature in one of the available preset modes. Due to reversible doors, a refrigerator can be placed almost anywhere. In addition, the auto-defrost system provides continuous operation without the need for manual defrosting. Furthermore, the refrigerators are designed to save energy that helps reduce your energy bills. Besides, extra temperature control features are an important bonus.