When faced with buying a fridge and choosing whether to buy just a fridge or to opt for the combined fridge-freezer version, we suggest that you base your choice on the type of food you are planning to store in your new kitchen appliance.
Of course, there are other criteria that you would need to consider, here we have outlined the few, probably most important.
Energy Efficiency
If saving energy is the most important for you when buying a fridge or fridge-freezer, then you should have in mind that the most efficient appliances have A+++ rating.
When air flows separately into the fridge and freezer departments, this allows the appliance to maintain even temperatures in the compartments, making it easier to use less energy.
Types of Food
Before you buy a new fridge or decide to go for the combined version – fridge/freezer, think about what you intend to put in your new kitchen appliance and how you’ll find the space to store it without squashing your food. Of course an added freezer is never a mistake as you never know when you might cook too much food you won’t want to throw away.
Mostly fresh food would suggest a fridge-freezer with a larger fridge compartment.
If you use mostly fresh fruit and vegetables, look for a fridge with salad compartment and a bigger drawer for the larger products.
If you don’t have the time to cook and store mostly frozen food, then the obvious choice would be a bigger freezer, but you could have that also in case you need to freeze loads of freshly cooked food. In this case you should be looking for a fridge-freezer with similar capacities.
For storing drinks, consider adjustable shelves and wine racks, there are models with built-in wine coolers.
You may also decide to have a fridge-freezer with an ice dispenser, some American style fridge-freezers have this feature, as well as water dispensers, built in their doors.
Effective Cooling
Most of the new fridges and fridge-freezers can regulate the temperatures of both departments simply by being set on the appropriate (desirable) degree in advance.
If your appliance doesn’t have this feature, you should have in mind that the amount of food you have stored in you fridge affects the temperature and have an effect on its quality.
Mostly, you should look for a fridge that regulates well the temperature and the humidity levels to preserve the freshness of the food.
For the freezer department, it’s important to choose a technology that keeps the appliance ice-free for as long as possible.
Capacity and Style of Fridge-Freezer
When choosing a fridge, it’s important to know that you need the appliance to be spacious enough so the food is not crammed and allows efficient cooling, the amount of the food stored affects that.
A 100 to 150 litres fridge should be enough for a household of up to two people; 150 to 250 litres would work for 3 to 4 people; you’ll need 250 litres or more if your household consists of more than 4 people.
When it comes to style, there are no rules, and all depends on taste and space.
The American style fridge-freezer will need double the space in length than the conventional top-bottom fridge-freezer combo.
If you opt for the built in versions, then you can easily consider the separate versions and have a fridge and a freezer lined up next to each other.