The Consumer’s Guide to Refrigerators
Fresh Facts About Fridges
The kitchen appliance you value most is undoubtedly your refrigerator. No matter your lifestyle, a refrigerator affords you convenience in storing food with cold temperature requirements at your veritable fingertips. It stores them accessibly in the refrigerator section for a considerable length of time and in the freezer compartment for even longer. Gone are the days when our grandmothers bought milk products from the dairyman to last for just a day or two!
Refrigerators are available in a diversity of styles and sizes: there are top-freezer models and bottom-mount designs, economical compact size and high-ended built-ins. Various features lend a breath of fresh air. What should you be looking for?
To decide which refrigerator is for you, first ask yourself which you value most, storage space or economy. The larger the appliance, the more it will cost you both to purchase and to run. Is it refrigeration you are seeking, with additional freezing capacity as a bonus; or is maximum freezer space your prime concern?
Be aware that official storage capacity listed by the manufacturer includes light bulbs, thermostat controls, and brackets and as such is more “generous” than real, usable space. Make sure the refrigerator and freezer shelves are large enough to store your favorite pizza pie or turkey!
Do you cook in large quantities for family or guests? Or have marathon baking sessions to “feed the freezer” for when you don’t have time? The size of the refrigerator you choose is sure to be affected. Calculate 9 cubic feet in storage space for each of the first 2 people, with 1 cubic foot for each additional person.
Nibbling children like to reach for that fresh fruit or pudding snack all by themselves. Will the fridge style ensure that they find them accessible? Of course, if you want to discourage their independence, you will want them out of reach (the food products, not the children).
Any back constraints in reaching down or to the rear? This will affect ability to access and to clean. Check out the freezer-on-the-bottom described below.
And don’t forget the ever-important factor of space requirements. Does your kitchen have enough room for the model of your choice? For door clearance? Be sure to allow for air flow around the sides and back of the refrigerator. Bear in mind that a refrigerator should not be installed near a radiator, oven, or stove. Even direct sunlight should be avoided. It makes it less energy-efficient and more expensive to run.
Style
There are 3 popular styles available in refrigerators today: top-freezer, bottom-freezer, and side-by-side. Read on to find the right one for you.
Top-Freezer
Also referred to as a top-mount refrigerator, these are the ones we all grew up with, every bit as popular today. The ice cream is still waiting for you (the parent) in the top freezer compartment, with fruit and vegetables filling the bottom bins (for the children). Wide shelves create the most generous storage capacity in this type of refrigerator, which is also the least expensive.
Measuring 66” tall, 30-36” wide and 27-32” deep, plan on getting anywhere from 8-22 cubic feet of actual storage space (manufacturers’ claims of 10-27 cubic ft. notwithstanding). If you put a premium on getting more for less (more storage space for less money), you’ll come out on top with a top-mount refrigerator.
Bottom-Freezer
An exciting new trend in fridge design is the bottom-freezer refrigerator. Remember back to 8th-grade science and the “warm air rises” principle? If you weren’t sleeping in class that day, you will understand why this makes a refrigerator with its freezer compartment at the bottom the most energy-efficient . That means greatest cost efficiency in addition to superior freezing capabilities.
If you use the refrigeration compartment much more frequently than the freezer section you'll enjoy the convenience of having the cold storage items at eye-level. At last, strategically-positioned fruit and vegetables! The freezer on the bottom opens by means of a door or drawer, some with extension drawers for easier pull-out.
Bottom-mount refrigerators tend to run 66” tall, 30-36” wide, and 27-32” deep, with a capacity slightly less than that of similarly-sized top-freezers. Stylish versions come in French-door design.
Side-By-Side
A side-by-side refrigerator places the freezer compartment right next door - one on the right (usually the refrigerator section), one on the left (generally the freezer). This type boasts the largest capacity in freezer storage space.
Multiple freezer drawers or shelves afford a greater degree of organization than in the freezer compartments of other refrigerator styles. Its narrower freezer shelves may not accommodate large cuts of meat, pizza pies or sheet cakes, but it will likely offer you a crushed ice dispenser right in the door for use with all your favorite cold beverages. Some of these include a rapid-ice maker, to boot!
The refrigerator section is also bound to feature a cold water dispenser in the door. This may come with its own water filtration system or afford you possible hook-up to your filtered water supply. (Either way it requires connection to your home water source.)
As if that’s not enough in the fancy frill department, side-by-sides are the type most likely to feature temperature-controlled drawers or bins. This is ideal for fish, meat, and other temperature-sensitive perishables.
Side-by-sides generally measure 66” tall, 30-36” wide, and 27-32” deep, with storage capacity listed anywhere from 19 to 30 cubic feet. (You can reduce that realistically by 1/3.) Although they are less energy and cost-efficient than the top or bottom freezer styles mentioned above, their double-door system is particularly convenient for space-restricted conditions, as each door requires less room for clearance than with other refrigerator styles.
Extra Small - Especially Tall
If you are looking for something specifically tailored to your needs, you may do well with a compact, built-in or cabinet-depth refrigerator.
Compacts
A compact refrigerator measures 20” tall and offers a book-listed capacity of up to 6 cubic feet. Models without a freezer section often feature an ice cube tray. You can even find them in the smallest of cube designs, perfect for counter-top placement.
Compacts consume less energy and are ideal for more modest cold food storage requirements. Households with 1-2 people, dorm rooms, guest rooms, and offices find them particularly useful - and economical, as well.
Built-Ins
As with anything else, you get what you pay for! High-ended built-in refrigerators lend a custom look to your kitchen unlike anything else. At a whopping 66” tall and 25-26” deep, they are taller and somewhat shallower than standard refrigerators, with a notable width of 36-48”. Boasting a capacity of 30 cubic feet and up, they come typically in bottom-freezer and side-by-side models. Separate built-in refrigerator and freezer may be mounted together for a total width of 72”. High purchase, energy, and maintenance costs will not deter those who find their designer look an irresistable advantage, replete with optional front panels to match their kitchen cabinets.
Cabinet-Depth Refrigerators
These built-in style refrigerators present a more affordable option for those who value the custom look. They are freestanding, run the depth of kitchen cabinets and usually come in large side-by-side models. They also offer you the option of extra front panels to match your interior décor.
Shelving
If we can say that the raison d’etre of a refrigerator is the storage space it gives you, then we can find the mode de vivre in its shelving system. (Pardon the French.) After all, a refrigerator is only as good as the accessible storage it affords you for all those wanted food items, and good shelving is the key to accessible storage. Now let’s turn to a review of various shelf options.
Refrigerator shelving is found either in wire racks or glass shelves. Racks are best with wires spaced close together so that nothing can poke out or fall. A center support bar adds strength and stability. On the other hand, glass shelves are a pleasure to clean. They prevent spillage to the shelf below - especially when they come with a tilted-up rim. Glass shelves tend to come in half-width sections. These allow you greater versatility in adjusting shelf height when you need to store that extra-tall pot of chicken soup or quadruple-decker Black Forest creation.
In fact, if it’s flexibility and convenience that you seek, super-adjustable shelving is the way to go. Look for the latest in those you can crank up and down; no need first to empty everything out!
Shelves with rollers make it easier to access the food at the rear. Others have a front section which slides under the back of the shelf, designed for the same purpose.
Do you need plenty of cold drinks on hand? Expandable door shelves or compartments fit in bottles and cans to perfection. Alternative door shelving includes brackets which can be adjusted, or guards to prevent even your tallest bottles from falling. There are even horizontal wire racks for optimum wine storage.
Bins are another form of refrigerator shelving. Look for door bins which can be easily moved to different heights.
See-through fruit and vegetable bins enable you to take stock at a glance. Temperature- and humidity-controlled bins keep your produce fresh like never before.
User-Friendly Features & Frills
There’s no end in sight to advancement in refrigeration design. Progress is being made on all fronts, whether in esthetics, electronics, or communications.
Refrigerators still come in the traditional white you know and love. However, off-white, black, and bisque (that’s pinkish-brown) are now on the market in smooth or pebbled finish. Stainless steel versions are the more expensive competition. There is even new-and-improved stainless steel which maintains its fingerprint-free, smudge-free luster. You will find that door design has expanded to include curved doors for the style-conscious and even reversible doors.
Refrigerators are quieter than ever. This is thanks to their increased energy efficiency, which compensates for the higher energy levels consumed by some of the fancy features. Check out the EnerGuide Sticker for estimated annual energy consumption.
Look for temperature controls positioned near the front of the refrigerator for added convenience. Some models now come with digital controls and even display temperature readings of the refrigerator and freezer sections, or point to inconsistencies in temperature.
Would you like to have ice in unlimited quantities? Some versions come with icemakers in the freezer compartment, or offer you the capability of installing one yourself. (Those found on the inside of the freezer door are most convenient as they do not reduce the storage space in the main freezer area.)
You didn’t think this age of computer technology would skip over refrigerators, did you? Digital multimedia refrigerators offer you access to your shopping list, grocery stock-check, recipes, messages, and errand lists. In additional to a built-in MP3 player and TV they also offer full Internet access and the ability to check your email...your kitchen will now become a true entertainment center and home office.
So don’t be left out in the cold without a quality refrigerator. Select your favorite fridge today for maximum comfort living.
