Refrigeration

Fridges and Freezers

Refrigeration is the one appliance in the house that never switches off, which changes how the buying decision should be made. The energy rating is not a detail here the way it is on a dryer or a dishwasher, because the difference between two ratings compounds every hour of every day for ten years or more. That is the first thing to compare between two machines that otherwise look alike.

Format comes next, and it is decided by the kitchen rather than by preference. A full height fridge freezer is the standard, and the split ratio is the real choice within it: 50/50 gives equal space and suits a household that batch cooks, while 60/40 and 70/30 shift more room to the fridge for anyone buying fresh more often than they freeze. A larder fridge has no freezer compartment at all and gives the most usable fridge space for its height. An undercounter model fits the standard gap beneath a worktop and works either as the main fridge in a compact kitchen or as extra cold storage elsewhere. An American style or French door model is side by side or four door, which is what a big weekly shop actually needs, at the cost of considerable width and often a plumbed water connection. Chest freezers and upright freezers cover bulk storage in a garage or a utility, and mini fridges, drinks fridges and wine coolers cover a desk, a bedroom, a home office or a bar.

Beyond format, four features earn their cost. Frost free removes the job of defrosting a freezer by hand, which is the single most disliked household chore this appliance creates. Reversible doors let the machine suit a kitchen that opens the other way, and that is worth confirming before delivery rather than after. Fast freeze matters if you batch cook or buy in bulk. And total no frost, water dispensers and freshness systems such as HarvestFresh and VitaminCare+ extend how long fruit and vegetables last, which is the difference people notice weekly. Measure the alcove height, width and depth including the door swing, and leave a gap at the back and sides so the compressor can shed heat.

Bosch, Beko, Hoover and Hisense cover the widest span across integrated, freestanding and undercounter. Samsung and Haier lead the American style and French door range, with Blomberg, Electrolux, Candy, Belling, Liebherr and Powerpoint across the rest. Narrow the range in fridge freezers, fridges, freezers, undercounter fridges and freezers, American fridge freezers, chest freezers, mini fridges and wine coolers.

Refrigeration is bought when something breaks rather than when it is cheap, which is exactly why a sale is worth watching before you need one. Prices are live all year, so see what is reduced now on fridges and freezers on sale, or the Black Friday fridge freezer deals.