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How to Buy Refrigerators
The "ice box" continues its evolution into an extremely efficient, high tech home appliance. 1996 Federal Standards required the elimination of CFC (chloroflourocarbon) as the cooling gas, substituting a more environmentally friendly coolant. Energy efficiency continues to rise through improved thermal insulation inside the walls of the unit and redesigned compressor configurations. Most impressive has been the research on how people actually use a refrigerator. Inside spaces accommodate nearly every combination of bottles, cartons, and foods while providing sophisticated temperature control systems to assure their freshness. Choose a refrigerator of the proper size, both its inside capacity and its exterior dimensions.
Refrigerator Style
Top Freezer: This is the traditional configuration and the least expensive to buy. It also is the least expensive to operate over the years. If you are a frequent frozen food user, the freezer at eye-level is very convenient. On the other hand, the fresh fruit and vegetable bins are usually buried at the bottom of the unit.
Side-By-Side: This style is considered elegant and stylish. It's long narrow double doors usually require less front clearance to swing open and frequently used foods can be easily seen in both compartments. There are, however, trade-offs. The overall unit is larger than a typical top- freezer style; the narrow doors make items in the back of the compartment more difficult to see; and side-by-sides are usually more expensive than top-freezer models.
Bottom Freezer: Although convenient, bottom-freezer models are rare and expensive.
Refrigerator Capacity
Top Freezer models are available in a wide range of sizes, ranging from ten to twentysix cubic feet. Side-By-Side models usually run between twenty and twenty seven cubic feet. Proper capacity for your needs is important not only for convenience, but for efficiency of operation. A full, but not over-full, refrigerator keeps your food cool more efficiently. Since there are no guidelines for making this choice, try to use your current refrigerator capacity as a reference point, and adjust up or down based on its usual fullness.
Refrigerator Features
Ice Maker: Ice makers are standard on many higher end models and nearly always available as an option. They are frequently packaged as a "kit" for the do-it-yourselfer, and include all the necessary hardware. Be aware of your refrigerator's proximity to a water supply. Although it can be done, running water lines all the way around your kitchen is both inconvenient and expensive. The typical ice maker sits in your freezer and can generate around a pound of ice a day. More sophisticated models dispense the ice through a chute on the front door and may even offer a crushed-ice option. Ice makers do require occasional maintenance and can be peskily trouble-prone, but are certainly a useful convenience.
Water Dispenser: Some higher end models have through-the-door icewater dispensers. These supply water from a container housed inside the refrigerator, fed by a water supply line. The same concerns about proximity to a water supply that apply to ice makers should be addressed.
Electronic Touchpad: If you like to set temperatures at the touch of a finger and love it when your refrigerator tells you if it is too warm, its door is ajar, or it's time to clean the coils, electronic touchpad control is for you. It can be found on the higher end models.
Shelf Type: Shelving is generally a coated or covered wire or glass. The wire type is usually on less expensive models and is totally functional, but spills go through the wires onto anything below them. Shelves may also slide out and/or be adjustable in a number of food storage configurations. The more flexibility, the more expensive.
How to Buy Refrigerators
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Refrigerators
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