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Tips for buying refrigerators, types and models
Fortunately, the market currently offers us a great variety of types of electrical appliances and if we focus on the typical refrigerators or those new refrigerators modern that every kitchen should have, the variety of ranges and models are being exceeded day by day, where quality and design enhance the beauty of our homes. But… What refrigerator to buy according to our needs?
The refrigerator is one of the basic appliances in any home, and it is advisable to choose the one that best suits each need and always taking into account its quality and of course, its energy expenditure that will undoubtedly affect the energy bill of the month … How much does a refrigerator consume at home?
As we can identify in the graph, the electrical consumption of the refrigerator it is around 30%. Therefore, choosing a good quality refrigerator It is important.
It should be borne in mind that specific stores and specialized online web pages are usually cheaper than those of large chains, although it may not seem so when buying a refrigerator or freezer as they are specialized in the sector. For example, we found that in a web store specialized in household appliances, the range of beko refrigerators are 11% cheaper than a well-known large area, even with its offers on refrigerators. So beware of the rush to buy!
How to choose a refrigerator
Among the essential household appliances for a home, the one that should occupy the first place on the list could not be other than the refrigerator. They allow food to be preserved for a longer time, and these make up the basic needs of a family, that is, food. It will be useless to buy a large number of products, if later it is not possible keep them in optimal conditions and for as long as you want, multiplying an expense that is already high.
There are several factors and aspects that affect the purchase of this appliance and all of them influence in one way or another and that we must take them into account:
Use and frequency of use
For this, you have to take into account the number of people who are going to use it, if it is going to be every day (the common thing), or the amount of products destined for freezing.
Where to install the refrigerator
Depending on the space available in the kitchen, you will have to choose a model with specific dimensions. Then other secondary aspects will come such as color or paneling, according to the decoration. Remember before the purchase, indicate where you should open the doors! … That many times we forget.
In the previous graph we can identify the measures that we should take into account in relation to the space - gap that we have in our kitchen before purchasing a fridge. Also in the following diagram we can identify the standard parts to be able to have an idea of what we can find:
Arrangement of doors and modules
Any self-respecting appliance must have space to store different foods, both vertical and horizontal, and not have nooks or corners that are difficult to access.
- Shelves: They must be easy to clean and remove as well as being resistant, and always better if they are made of glass to be able to see through them with rounded edges.
- Humidity and temperature controls: They must be easy to access and use. Whenever possible they should be in the front so that you do not have to move food to get to the controls.
- Drawers: Virtually all refrigerators already come with individual drawers that maintain a constant temperature and humidity that are normally used for vegetables, fruits or meats.
- Camera lighting: The refrigerators must always be well lit (We remember that also in the drawers and the freezer). The current lighting is usually by means of LEDs that last a long time.
- The ease of cleaning the cameras: Although the no frost technology avoids the formation of frost and saves us that periodic defrosting. It is advisable to disassemble all the drawers and shelves, and of course, as we have commented previously, no nooks and crannies should appear and the smoother the walls the better.
How to organize the fridge
Although with current technology all types of food are kept at an optimal temperature and humidity, it is not bad to remember how to organize a refrigerator and how to keep food fresh in the refrigerator. So we leave an image that is worth a thousand words:
Remembering that the average temperature of the fridge should be between around 5ºC - 8ºC and in the freezer part, it is recommended to -18ºC.
What is the capacity of the refrigerator
This is measured in liters, if it is for a single person, 100-150 liters will be enough, and if it is for three or four the capacity rises from 350 to 500 liters on average.
Refrigerator freezing capacity and food shelf life
It is important to foresee the amount of time during which the food will be preserved, depending on the needs of each person or family, since it will not be the same cold room that can only freeze for a few days, than another that allows food to be kept for months. The stars indicate this freezing ability.
- 1 star: they only allow you to keep food for a few hours. They reach -6 degrees.
- 2 stars: freeze for up to three days. They reach -12 degrees.
- 3 stars: they allow to keep food frozen for months. A minimum of -18 degrees.
- 4 stars: in addition to keeping freezing for months, it is faster and with a greater amount of food.
The energy label also tells us, in the form of the camera's star rating, the cooling capacity of a refrigerator. Each star is equal to -6º C. Remembering that the refrigerator motor must be silent.
Types of refrigerators
Currently there is a wide offer in refrigerator models, and each one has specific characteristics, in addition to its advantages and disadvantages.
Conventional refrigerators, the cheapest
Those of a lifetime, that is, they have a single motor that operates the freezer and refrigerator, and the simplest and most economical. Its main disadvantage is that it has only one temperature selector, and if it is necessary to freeze more, the food in the fridge will get very cold, and can even be frozen. They can be one-door, with the freezer inside, or two-door.
Combi Refrigerators
These appliances have several advantages:
- They have two independent motors, one for the upper part (where the food does not need to be frozen) and the other for the freezer, and they allow each one to be adjusted to suit each need.
- They have a defrosting device that transforms the frost into water, and subsequently evaporates. This causes an increase in humidity that results in better preservation of fresh food.
No Frost Refrigerators
These models work by dry cold, that is, they do not produce frost, optimizing refrigeration and freezing. In addition, they prevent odors from intermingling, the food maintains its properties for a longer time, and it prevents frozen products from sticking together.
Three-door refrigerators
These have, in addition to the two doors of the combi, with another one. This third section offers the possibility of using it as appropriate, either as a refrigerator or as a freezer, according to the needs of each moment. For example, when fresh food is purchased for a time, and it is necessary to freeze a part so that it does not spoil, to have reservations in case of long trips, vacations, … etc.
Ecological refrigerators
These appliances reduce the consumption of CFCs (carbonated chlorine fluoride gases) by approximately 50%. This prevents damage to the ozone layer, although its price is higher. Also, as an alternative from the article of the most ecological refrigerator we show you an excellent idea.
Consumption of refrigerators
An important issue that we often forget is to understand what the energy label that is attached to different types of refrigerators means:
NOTE of 2022: In Europe the scale of the energy labeling of household appliances has changed with reference to their Energy Rating. As simple as before was A+ has automatically become C. The A++ now they are B and so on … Why? You simply had to leave room for all the technological innovations that will arrive in the coming years, it's that simple!
According to the National Association of Manufacturers and Importers of Home Appliances (ANGEL) the average annual savings for the purchase of a refrigerator according to its energy label according to A +++ and A ++, are the following in the combi refrigerators, normal ones and freezers:
We are talking about seriously reducing energy consumption and with significant savings for our pockets.
Modern state-of-the-art refrigerators
They are appliances with modern functions:
- Remote control: They allow to control the functions of the refrigerator through the mobile.
- LCD: They are equipped with a screen in which all the details are reflected (optimal temperature, general state … etc)
- DHW: Even if the outside temperature exceeds 40 degrees, this technology makes the inside of the refrigerator remain unchanged.
- Antibacteria: The interior walls are covered with a specific antibacterial treatment, which prevents the development of germs and fungi.
- With internet: There are state-of-the-art refrigerators that connect directly to the Internet both to offer us detailed information on the products we have, as well as other options such as the automatic ordering of missing products or they provide us with recipes according to the products we have in the fridge.
Refrigerator prices
The price of this appliance varies depending on many aspects and in most cases as in all things, the more you pay, the more benefits and quality we will have. But the best advice to buy a refrigerator And from experience, it is that we put a limit amount of money, and secondly, search and compare.
Remember that depending on the type of kitchen that we can have at home, some points must be considered from the aspect of usability and usefulness, see the article on types of kitchens and their characteristics.
Waste two or three days properly informing yourself by looking on the Internet (Normally a little cheaper) and looking at physical stores, the difference of the same fridge model it can be considerable from an economic perspective.
As a rule, conventional one-door refrigerators tend to be cheaper than standard ones. combi refrigerators that frame the latest technology.
At this point, and depending on the particular needs, the expense necessary to acquire a good refrigerator will be amortized over the years, before another household appliance, since a long and optimal preservation of food is essential. .
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