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- What type of fridge freezers or fridges are there?
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As a general rule this will fall loosely into 6 major catagories:
Fridge freezers (1 piece)
Tall fridge-only units (generally referred to as larders)
Tall freezers
Under work top units where the fridge will have a small freezer compartment inside
Single larder or freezer
Built in fridges
1 piece freestanding fridge freezers are available in a vast range of heights, but the choice in width is not as great most manufactures will sell standard size fridge freezers around 50/55/60cm in width. There are, however, some wider fridge freezers available from a smaller selection of manufacturers such as Leibheer, Fisher and Paykel, Bosch and Siemens that are manufactured up to 80cm wide. Fridge freezers above this width, will fall into the American style.
- How will I know which fridge suits my needs?
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Space available
Fridge manufacturers
Frost-free fridges
Twin compressor fridges
Fridge sizes
Fridge colours
Built-in fridges
Location
Fridge energy ratings
- How much space is available?
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What fridge size can you accommodate? A lot of older style homes may have only allowed for a
50cm wide unit, so always measure the space dimensions before visiting your
local fridge retailer. Your choice may be dictated by this one factor alone.
- What should I consider when comparing fridge manufacturers?
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Price is always a factor and this will be based on which fridge manufacturer you choose based on fridge quality, size and features eg: frost-free fridges.
- What are frost-free fridges?
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'Frost free' is a term that often causes confusion. It actually refers to the freezer compartment
of the fridge freezer. You will not get a frost or ice build up. As opposed to a
static freezer, a frost free fridge only freezes the water in the food itself by circulating
cold air around the freezer compartment and excess moisture is removed from the air.
A static freezer will just freeze the whole compartment, often freezing warm air that
has entered when the freezer door was open and will appear over time as ice
(which is when the freezer requires defrosting).
- What are twin compressor fridges?
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Twin compressor units are fridges where each compartment has its own separate cooling
system and motor units which can be turned off without affecting the other,
or in the event of a breakdown, all food is not lost. Therefore, these fridges
can be more beneficial compared to frost free or static fridge freezers (which only have
one main motor unit). However, the only drawback is that twin compressor models will not be frost free.
Ratios simply refer to what amount of space is occupied by each fridge freezer compartment
eg: 70/30 would be 70% fridge and 30% freezer (but you will know what you want when you
see it). Some manufacturers will quote the space of each fridge freezer compartment as
liters (more common on EU products) and some in cubic foot (cu. ft). A rough guide formula
for liters to cu. ft is take the section mentioned eg: fridge 221 liters = 7.8 cu. ft or
221 divided by 28 will give you approx the same answer.
- What colour fridges are available?
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Sadly there are very few manufacturers who offer any color choice. The most well known is Hot Point,
who offer 4 color variants in white, sandstone (cream color) silver and mercury (grey colour).
Most manufacturers, however, will do stainless steel.
- What are built-in fridges?
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Much is the same with built-in fridges, compared to the freestanding counterpart.
However, size is a little more critical and when replacing an older fridge,
you should take the old installation manual with you or, failing that, measure
the individual doors and overall height. These can be critical to the fridge retailer
when purchasing your new built-in fridge with the correct dimensions - mistakes can be costly,
so if in doubt, most reputable dealers can arrange a site survey at a small charge.
- Where should I place the fridge or freezer?
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It may be due to space constraints that you may have a fridge or freezer in an outside
location such as a garage or shed. In the case of a frost free fridge, it is
worth noting that they may not function properly or even break down. Frost free
fridges now use a new cfc free gas, in conjunction with the new type of thermostats
used and as such, a vast majority of manufacturers will not honor a guarantee where
the fridge has been used in an excessively cold environment.
- What are fridge energy ratings?
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In general, most new fridges are A or A+. This is a set formula on energy use cooling
efficiency etc. You may find this somewhat confusing at times, but as a rule A or A+ fridges are the best.
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