How to Choose the Best Refrigerator- Buying Guide

Are you thinking of replacing your old refrigerator with a new one but don’t know how to make a good decision? Here is the quick buying guide on “how to choose the best refrigerator.” Numerous refrigerator brands are available with stylish designs, capacity, exclusive features, and smart power ratings. Hence, confusion is real when deciding on the best refrigerators. 

How to Choose the Best Refrigerator

Therefore, to sort out your searching puzzle, we’ve listed some of the key things which you need to consider while buying the best fridge. Let’s not waste time and follow the buying guide. 

Contents

1. Capacity

The foremost thing you need to consider while buying a refrigerator is capacity. The capacity of the refrigerators is always measured in the liters. Depending on your requirement, you can choose the refrigerators.

Here, we’re providing you with a table that helps to choose the refrigerator for your home easily. 

Family Members Capacity 
1 individual50 litres to 250 litres
2 to 3 people250 litres to 500 litres
4 to 5 people500 litres to 700 litres
6+people550 litres to 750+ litres

2. Size

Refrigerators come in different sizes and designs. The standard size of the refrigerators ranges from 24-40 inches in width and 62-72 inches in height.

However, there are some models available that have a larger size. Therefore, be sure to consider the size based on your requirement. 

3. Type Of Refrigerator

Refrigerators come in different designs and types. These are as follows; 

  • Single Door Refrigerator

Single-door refrigerators are excellent for home usage. This is one of the common types of refrigerators available for home-usage. It has a compact design and fits the homes properly. Moreover, the fridge is ideal for small families. 

  • Double Door Refrigerator

The double-door refrigerator is great for extra storage space and is available in capacities such as 235 Liter to 415 liters. It also comes with different compartments to keep your items at different temperatures. Double door refrigerators have a free frosting system but consume less power. Double door refrigerators further come in two forms. 

  1. Top Mount- The top-mounted fridge is slightly inconvenient to use 
  2. Bottom Mount- The bottom-mounted fridge is convenient and keeps your items securely at a certain height from where you can easily access the items. 
  • Side By Side Refrigerator

Side-by-side-mounted refrigerators split the fridge into the middle, right, and upper regions. This offers you much space and keeps your frozen food on the left side and fresh food, vegetables, and other items on the right side. However some side-by-side refrigerators offer equal space, but some offer sections and shelves for extra space. Depending on your requirement, you can choose the refrigerator that suits your needs. 

  • Multi/French Door Refrigerator

The Multi/French door refrigerator has a bottom-mounted freezer design where you can keep your essential items. This opens like a drawer giving it a more exceptional look. 

4. Inverter Technology

Inverter technology is excellent for saving additional costs on electricity bills. They come with a flexible compressor that offers cooling at variable speeds. Moreover, they do not make much noise. So, if you are looking to buy a new refrigerator, be sure to consider the inverter technology in the fridge. 

5. Compressor

Compressors help maintain the ideal temperature within refrigerators and provide efficient cooling. There are two types of compressors available in refrigerators. Small refrigerators come with a general compressor, and the large fridge comes with an inverter compressor. 

  1. General Compressor 

The general compressor operates at high speed and then maintains stable speed. They keep on running without having cooling loss. You have to switch them off manually once they reach the maximum cooling. They consume high energy. 

  1. Inverter Compressor 

Inverter compressors are excellent because they offer variable cooling speeds and are more economical than other models. They start at a low speed and then vary the speed based on the cooling requirement. Inverter compressors may be costly but effective if you want to save extra energy. 

6. Defrosting Mechanism

The defrost mechanism is crucial to consider when you are buying the best refrigerator for you. Refrigerators come with two types of defrosting mechanisms. 

  1. Direct Cool Defrosting

The direct cool defrosting mechanism helps maintain air circulation with external support. However, the significant disadvantage of this system is that it doesn’t provide uniform air distribution. Hence, it leads to the formation of ice in refrigerators. Therefore, you need to defrost at regular intervals, which creates a lot of mess. 

But the advantage is these refrigerators are economical and consume less energy. Therefore, if you are comfortable defrosting, this is best for you. 

  1. Free-Frosting Mechanism 

The free frosting mechanism is excellent because you don’t need to meet with ice and frosting. This refrigerator automatically circulates cool and dry air with an electric fan. This allows spreading cooling uniformly but is quite expensive than the other model. Moreover, it consumes high energy. Therefore, if you are on a budget, this type of refrigerator may not fit your pocket. 

7. Energy Efficiency

When you are buying any refrigerator for your home or commercial place, always look for the energy ratings given on the refrigerator. The ratings are as follows: 

  • 2-star
  • 3-star 
  • 4-star
  • 5-star 

Refrigerators with four-star or five-star ratings are worth buying because they are highly energy-efficient and help save extra money on electricity bills payment. 

8. Built-In Voltage Stabilizer

A voltage stabilizer is helpful to protect your appliance from voltage fluctuation. High or low voltage can damage the refrigerator. Hence, if you will buy a refrigerator, be sure to check the built-in refrigerator feature. It helps to keep the voltage stable and protect your fridge from damage. Moreover, you don’t need to buy an additional stabilizer for your fridge, which may cost you extra. 

9. Convertibility

A convertible refrigerator gives you complete control of the refrigerator and allows you to operate two different fridge compartments at different temperatures. Unfortunately, not all brands offer the convertible feature in their refrigerator. However, there are some brands available that offer convertible fridges. So, if you want a refrigerator that can be used for different functions, a convertible model is great to invest in. 

10. Additional Features

Some additional features which you can consider are as follows: 

  • Quick-Freeze Compartment

The compartment allows you to get quick ice. Some modern refrigerators come with this feature. So, if you need quick freezing, then consider this feature. 

  • Deodorizer

The deodorizer is excellent for keeping your refrigerator away from the foul smell which sometimes comes from vegetables and other items. 

  • Air Filtration

Air filtration helps maintain a germ-free environment in the freezer and keeps your food items fresh for longer. 

  • Adjustable Shelves

Adjustable shelves are helpful to add extra space and remove shelves when not needed. Moreover, adjustable shelves are excellent for keeping more food in the refrigerator. 

  • Noise

Some refrigerator compressors make too much noise. But here are some models that are available with noise cancellation features. The refrigerators with such features offer noise-free operation. 

  • Water & Ice Dispenser

A water & Ice dispenser is an excellent feature to consider when investing in a refrigerator. It helps to dispense ice and water without messing with water spilling issues. Therefore, always buy a refrigerator with a water & ice dispenser system. 

11. Temperature Controls

Temperature control helps regulate the ideal temperature in the refrigerator to keep your items fresh for longer. Some refrigerators come with manual temperature control, and some with a digital temperature control system. The digital temperature control helps to set temperature conveniently and is very easy to use. It depends on which temperature control features work for you, and based on this; you can choose your refrigerator. 

12. Fluctuation Handling

Temperature and cooling fluctuations are common in refrigerators. But refrigerators these days come with fluctuating handling features, which help keep the temperature and cool stable even if the temperature fluctuates. Therefore, you can consider the fluctuating handling when buying the best refrigerator. 

13. Life Span

Life span is the key thing you need to consider when buying a refrigerator. Some refrigerators come with a 10-20 years life span, while some don’t last longer than 10 years. Therefore, when you buy any refrigerator, you must have a look at the lifespan to make a considerable investment. 

14. Price

Refrigerators are available in different price ranges. Some are expensive, whereas some are budget-friendly. If you’re on a budget, go with such brands which offer refrigerators on a budget. Some brands like Samsung, LG, and Godrej offer budget-friendly refrigerators. However, if you need a refrigerator with advanced settings and features, you can rely on models with a heavy budget. 

15. Warranty

The majority of the brands offer a warranty for more than 5 years on the refrigerator. However, some brands only offer a limited warranty for one year. Therefore, consider those brands that offer an extra warranty on refrigerators. The extended warranty helps save the extra cost of technical assistance and repair. 

FAQs

Q. Which compressor is best for a refrigerator?

Reciprocating processor is best for commercial refrigerators. They have a cylinder and heavy piston similar to the car engine. The reciprocal motion of the piston helps compress the refrigerant within the cylinder.

Q. What is a good size refrigerator for a family of 4?

 250 L to 330 L size refrigerator is ideal for a family of four to five people. 

Q. What are the three major criteria when selecting a refrigerator?

Size features and top mount designs are the three major criteria to look after when selecting a good refrigerator. In addition to this, you can also look into the types of refrigerators. 

Q. How long should a fridge last?

 Most refrigerators are built to last longer than 20 years. However, if you maintain the condition and timely repair the faults, it may last for more than 20 years. 

Q. Is LG a good fridge brand?

Yes, LG is a good fridge brand as it offers economical and high-tech fridges to meet your requirements. 

Q. Should I replace my 20-year-old refrigerator?

Yes, you can replace the 20-year-old refrigerator only if it is in good condition. Keeping an old refrigerator can only enhance the repair and servicing costs. Hence, it would be great to replace it. 

Q. What is the most common refrigerator size?

The standard refrigerator size is between 20 cubic feet to 25 cubic feet. The refrigerator is 30-36 inches wider.

Q. What temperature should I set for my refrigerator?

Ideally, you can set your refrigerator at 37⁰F to keep your vegetables and other items fresh for a longer time. 

Ayush Badhoni

Hi, This is Ayush Badhoni a passionate blogger from India, loves in researching and writing on various topics like home appliances, gadgets, beauty e.t.c I love to review products and give the best to my readers.