Refrigerator Buying Guide - What to Look for in a Refrigerator

Buying a refrigerator is a complicated task in view of the many types of refrigerators that are available today. The function of refrigerator has actually gone beyond the basic of keeping food cooled and chilled. There are tones of features that are equipped in most advanced refrigerators now. Therefore, choosing the right one that suits your family will take some time and require some basic knowledge on refrigerators. Here are a couple of things that you need to look out when buying a refrigerator.

The first thing that you need to decide is the capacity when it comes to buying a refrigerator. The rule of thumb here is to go with the general guideline where a family of two needs at least 10 cubic feet of fresh foot storage. You can add extra cubic feet for additional person in your family. Therefore, an 18-cubic-foot refrigerator is the smallest unit that you should get for a couple. A family of four needs at least a 22-cubic-foot refrigerator. Of course, if you can afford bigger refrigerator, the better it is. But be reminded that it takes more electricity to operate a bigger refrigerator which leads to higher electricity bill.

In addition to the capacity, the size of the refrigerator is equally important. The size can sometimes be a limiting factor in determining the refrigerator that you want to buy. For example, your family needs a 22-cubic-foot refrigerator but the space in your kitchen can only accommodate an 18-cubic-foot unit. If that is the case, you should probably make some space by removing certain items in the kitchen to fit the 22-cubit-foot refrigerator. Or else you can consider a side by side refrigerator if space is a concern. A side by side refrigerator consists of a freezer that is adjacent to the refrigerator. The advantage of side by side refrigerator is that it needs less door clearance which makes it ideal for a narrow kitchen.

Other factor to consider when buying a refrigerator is to select the type that suits your living style. There are several types of popular refrigerators in the market ranging from the commonly used top freezer, bottom freezer, side by side to the exotic French door unit. The top freezer is the most commonly seen refrigerator due to its affordability and simple design. Besides, the top freezer is also the one that has the least problem. Therefore, reliability issue seldom exists in top freezer refrigerator.

The bottom freezer model is equally comparable to top freezer but it's slightly more expensive. The advantage of bottom freezer lies in the convenience where more frequently used storages are placed at eye level. It's claimed that people with back pain problem should use the bottom freezer refrigerator to alleviate the back pain since you don't have to bend to access the food in the refrigerator.

The side by side and the French door unit is almost similar. The difference lies in the fact that the French door unit combines a side-by-side refrigerator on top and a full-width freezer at the bottom. Both of these refrigerators are the most expensive as they often incorporates fancy features such as a through-the-door ice and water dispenser, adjustable shelves, water filter and ice maker. The advantages of these types of refrigerators are that they can be fitted in narrow kitchen which require very little door clearance.

However, people will sometimes accommodate a side by side refrigerator in their kitchen even though there are plenty of spaces. One of the reasons behind is that these refrigerators are often equipped with plenty of extra sophisticated features that offer loads of conveniences to its users. Other reason might be due to the exotic look of these types of refrigerators instead of the normal top and bottom freezer units.

Lastly, if you are planning to get a refrigerator that is more than 22 cubic feet in capacity, consider one which is Energy Star qualified. An Energy Star qualified refrigerator means energy efficiency. An energy efficient refrigerator is very conservative in terms of electricity usage and it might help you to save some utility cost. One thing for sure is that you might be able to get rebates of up to a few hundred dollars for trading in your old refrigerator with a new Energy Star qualified model. A lot of utilities companies and even the local government do offer this kind of rebates. Therefore, do enquire the sales persons when you are in the stores.

All in all, buying a refrigerator is not that of a difficult task. All you need is some practice and some basic knowledge in refrigerator. But before going straight to the store, make sure that you have done some research on the model that you are looking for. The things that you want to look out are the cost and the features so that when you are at the store, you would know what to expect.

Coolaire Consolidated’s kitchen refrigeration systems are heavy-duty equipment with all-stainless steel cases. With ranges from half-door, full-door, to countertop variants, they are made for a wide array of requirements such as chiller, freezer, top-freezer/bottom-chiller, blast freezer and blast chiller.

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