It doesn’t matter if you live alone or with your family, there is one thing that you will always find in a home, a refrigerator. Some years back, it was easier to pick one from a small number of choices available. But today, with a wide variety of options available to you, choosing the right one can take forever.
A refrigerator is something you don’t buy every week or month. You buy it once in years. That is why it is really important that you do your research and take your sweet time before you get into this big commitment. The new features available in refrigerators today can lead to some confusion, and we are here to eliminate that confusion with an extensively researched refrigerator buying guide for you.
How to start
So how do we start the process? Let’s start with the basics: the types of refrigerators that are available for you to choose from and thereon go towards the budgeting part.
Major points to consider before buying a refrigerator include:
- Your family size
- Storage requirements
- Space in the kitchen
- Budget
Types of refrigerators
Gone are the days when refrigerators were only available as single door and double door options. Today, you have the evergreen single-door refrigerators, the French door refrigerators, the side-by-side refrigerators, double door refrigerators namely top-freezers and bottom-freezers. Each of these comes at a different price, different capacities, and different cooling technologies.
Single Door Refrigerator
The basic conventional style of refrigerator is the single-door model. This model has, as the name suggests, one main door with both fridge and freezer inside it. It works on direct cooling technology and is among the most affordable options in the market.
The capacity of this variation can be from 120L to 300L, but the most popular ones in this category range from 180 to 250L. If you are a bachelor and want to buy a mini refrigerator with no freezer, it would cost you as little as Rs.6,000. But for couples and nuclear families, a fridge with a capacity above 180-190L would be fine. The maximum price of a single-door refrigerator is under Rs.27,000 so you could say that this is one of the cheapest options available in the market.
Although it is one of the cheapest and most bought models, a single-door refrigerator has one big limitation. It has to be manually defrosted every week. Also, the models with a normal compressor can provide irregular cooling and run a noisy operation. To enjoy low noise, less vibration performance, and regulated speed cooling, you can opt for a refrigerator with a digital inverter compressor.
If you don’t like the sound of that, move over the single-door refrigerator. All the refrigerators we’re gonna discuss from here work on frost-free technology. What does that mean? Well, in simple terms, no excess ice formation in the freezer thus no need to defrost it manually every week.
Double-door refrigerator
The next pretty common type is double-door refrigerators. Double-door refrigerators are of two types, a top-mounted freezer, and a bottom-mounted freezer. And they can cost you anywhere from Rs.15000-Rs.80000 depending on the capacity, energy rating, and brand. The capacities of double-door refrigerators start from 230L that is ideal for couples and nuclear families and can be up to anywhere above 500L for joint families.
Since double door refrigerators have different doors for refrigerator and freezer, the cooling loss is reduced to a minimum. You also get easier access to food, with more space than a single-door fridge. Also, it features an inverter compressor that regulates the cooling speed and runs a low-noise operation.
Triple-door refrigerators
A triple-door refrigerator has 3 different compartments: a top-freezer, a fridge in the middle, and a storage space to store fruits and vegetables at the bottom. It provides you an easy way to organize your food in different compartments. The capacity of this model is appropriate for couples and nuclear families and it starts with a price of Rs.25,000.
Side-by-side refrigerator
The next type on our refrigerator buying guide is the side-by-side refrigerator. This unique model has one entire side dedicated to the refrigerator and the other to the freezer. Its vertical storage at eye level and low door swing clearance makes it very easy to use.
Undoubtedly, this model is the best if you live in apartments and want to optimize the space. Higher-end models generally come with external water and ice dispensers. The price of this refrigerator can be from Rs.40,000 to 2 lakhs and it is ideal for joint families.
French-door Refrigerator
Another aesthetically pleasing model of refrigerator is the French-door model. It is usually a high storage option that makes it ideal for larger families and users looking for high-end models. A side-by-side door for the refrigerator and a pantry-style freezer at the bottom makes it one of its kind.
Features in a SMART refrigerator
You might have noticed that smart refrigerators have become the talk of the town in recent times. A smart refrigerator doesn’t just keep your food fresh but also assists you in the kitchen. It can store and recommend recipes, perform a self-diagnosis at the time of any error, save more on energy, and entertain you and your family with music and movies on a pre-installed screen. Called smart for a reason!
Imagine there’s a power outage in your area! What is the first thing that comes to your mind? How do I access the internet now! How do I watch my content on OTT platforms without the Wi-Fi? Will the curry I made today be safe till the power comes back? The new-age refrigerators can keep your food cool and fresh, and the ice frozen for hours during power cuts.
Refrigerators that run a stabilizer-free operation prevent any damage caused by power fluctuations. Something you should always look for during the selection process.
Look for toughened glass shelves, inverter technology, adjustable shelves, temperature control, BEE star energy rating, and water and ice dispensers if you prefer.
Conclusion
It does depend entirely on your preferences. Don’t want to spend too much? Go for a single or double door. Want to optimize space, go for a side-by-side model. Want to add to the aesthetic of your house, French door it is. Want to store more food from time to time, go with a convertible model. There are many convertible models available that can help you get more refrigerator area by converting the freezer into a fridge by just pressing a button.
We hope you find this refrigerator buying guide useful. Please write to us if you have any queries regarding the buying process.