After searching around for months on end I finally came across a few refrigerators that blew me away. Today I ‘ll be sharing how I find the best refrigerator to suit my requirements. Here I will explain the common mistakes people doing while selecting the refrigerator for their sweet home. Here I will overview the Refrigerator Buying Guide India 2021.
Refrigerator Buying Guide in India 2021
Before buying a refrigerator, one should understand how a refrigerator works. In order to keep anything cool, heat to be removed from that object. Thus “Hot” & “Cold” are interrelated terms.
To keep food items fresh, a low temperature must be maintained in the surrounding atmosphere to reduce the reproduction rate of harmful bacteria. A refrigerator works to transfer heat from inside to outside, which is why it feels warm if you put your hand on the backside of the fridge near the metal pipes.
Finding the right fridge or refrigerator has never been easier. Our selection criteria include some of the below important parameters which you should look at before purchase. These are those parameters which help customer to select the best refrigerator based on their kitchen space available, cooling performance, cost, energy-saving, latest features & Brand.
Capacity
Knowing the correct size of the refrigerator is very important before you purchase a refrigerator especially for a modular kitchen. The below table will guide you for size selection based on the number of members in your family.
| Members in family | Capacity of refrigerator |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2 members | 40 to 100 L |
| Family of 3 | 150 to 250 L |
| Family of 4 | 250 to 350 L |
| Family of 5 | 250 to 500 L |
| Family of 6 | 500 to 800 L |
Door Type
Depending on their sizes & type of construction, refrigerators can be classified into mainly following 4 types.
- Single door refrigerators: As the name suggest, refrigerator have single door having a capacity range from 150 to 250 L. They are mostly direct cool type & economical. Nowadays companies offering auto defrost options on their models.
- Double door refrigerators: refrigerator has two doors one small door on top & a big one at the bottom. The upper compartment is for the freezer & the bottom is for regular use. It comes usually in a capacity of 200 to 500 L. These are mostly frost-free type & energy efficient.
3. Triple door refrigerators: These are generally taller & slimmer than other models. It comes in a capacity of 250 to 350 L. The door at the top is for the freezer, the middle one is for regular use and the lower one is a vegetable drawer. Triple door models come with frost-free technology.
4. Side By Side: These models have side by side doors. It generally comes in a capacity of 550 to 850 L. These are expensive & equipped with the latest technologies. These models offer huge storage space with different sections. They are frost-free & many models have water & ice dispensers in front.
5. Mini door refrigerator: These are designed to offer basic cooling to keep your food fresh. Mini refrigerators are tiny in size with a capacity of ~100L. They are direct cool type & have small freezer integrated in it.
Defrosting Type
Defrosting means to remove the frost or ice in refrigerator.
why defrosting is necessary in refrigerator?
Defrosting is necessary in refrigerator to remove odor. In freezing environment certain types of bacteria are thrive & can give off odor. Defrosting allows you to wipe down the inside of your kitchen appliance, removing the bacteria that cause the smell.
There are two types of refrigerators based on cooling air circulation i.e. direct cool & frost free type.
In the Direct cool type, cool air circulated in a natural way without any external help/pump. The major drawback of this type is uneven air distribution & the forming of ice in the refrigerator. Hence you need to manually defrost the fridge regularly. Some advantages of this type are refrigerator is economical & less power consumption.
In Frost free type, as the name suggests there is no frost or ice formation. The electric fan distributes the cool air evenly inside the refrigerator. The disadvantage of this type is that they are expensive than the direct cool type.
Energy Star Rating
Star rating indicates how energy efficient the appliance is. More the star rating, more energy efficient they are. Technically speaking, you are looking for total units of electricity (KWh) that your model will consume in a year.
| Star Rating | Approximately saving per yr. |
|---|---|
 | Rs. 300 |
 | Rs. 800 |
 | Rs. 1200 |
 | Rs. 1500 |
 | Rs. 1800 |
Type Of Compressor
There are two types of compressors used in refrigerator models i.e. General compressor & Inverter Compressor.
The function of the compressor is to maintain the temperature inside the fridge. One should understand that smaller refrigerators usually comes with a general compressor while medium & large sized refrigerators come with Inverter compressors.
Inverter compressor technology helps to save electricity & have more life span. It switches compressor to lower capacity whenever the temperature falls below set temperature & when cooling is required, the compressor operates at full capacity again.
| Parameter | Inverter Compressor | General Compressor |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature Variation | Less | More |
| Noise | Less | More |
| Energy Consumption | Less | More |
| Durability / Life span | More | Less |
Features
One must consider additional features while selecting of refrigerator. Now a days there are number of additional features given by refrigerator manufacturers to make your lives easier. Let’s have a look of some important features.
- Water/Ice dispenser: This feature allows you to collect cold water/ice cubes without opening the door. You just have to press the lever to get water/ice cubes.
- A number of shelves: With different models or brands, the number of shelves may vary as per the capacity of the fridge. Make sure that number of shelves you select will not result in a lack of space for a larger pot.
- Vegetable storage: If you are stocking up vegetables on a weekly basis, go for the larger size vegetable storage compartment. Nowadays almost all manufacturers offer this feature.
- Convertible fridges: If you have less space available, some models allow you to easily convert the freezer compartment into freeze space.
- Curd maker: This feature allows you to make curd in 5 to 6 hours. Generally, 5 hrs required for soft curd & 6 hrs for thick curd. We need to boil milk & cool it. After this some curd to be added to it & place in a curd maker tray for fermentation.
- Door in door design: This feature allows easy access to the food items which are being used frequently without leaving open the entire door & letting warm air in the rest of the refrigerator. In this way, the efficiency of the refrigerator can be increased.
- Pedestal drawers: This feature provides additional space for food items that do not require refrigeration e.g. onions, potatoes, chips, etc.
Conclusion:
Here I recommend you to select the best refrigerator for your home based on the above parameters because the refrigerator is a product of long investment. We can not simply buy such a costly product without knowing the selection criteria.
If you are looking to purchase a refrigerator refer to our comprehensive review of Top 10 Best Refrigerator In India Feb 2021 | Top Refrigerator Brands
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