With so many options, sizes, and styles to choose from, shopping for a new fridge can be overwhelming. To help you make the right choice for your family or household, we’ve outlined the following factors to consider.
How many people are living in your house?
This will help to give you an indication of approximately what capacity you will need in your refrigerator. Of course, this is also dependent on how often you do your grocery shopping, as well as how much of this is fresh and how much of it is frozen.
On average for a household of 1-2 people, we would recommend a capacity of between 200-350 litres, which will provide ample space for ±10 full shopping bags’ worth of groceries. For 3-4 people, we recommend a capacity of between 350-500 litres, giving you space to store 15-20 shopping bags full. For households of more than 5 people, a fridge with a capacity of more than 500 litres is recommended.
For larger families or households who perhaps do their grocery shopping less frequently, LG’s 601 litre Mega Capacity Side-by-Side fridge offers incredible value.
Top freezer, bottom freezer, or side-by-side?
In general, top freezers are usually more energy efficient than bottom freezers, but they also tend to have less storage space for frozen foods. Bottom freezers are often more convenient as the fresh foods in the fridge section are at eye level and easier to pick up. If you have the space in your kitchen, another convenient option may be a side-by-side fridge freezer. These occupy up to twice the amount of space as an upright, but with their larger storage capacities are ideal for bigger families or households.
Also pay attention to the split ratio between the fridge and freezer sections. The most popular split is 60/40 with the fridge side being the larger of the two. If you require more frozen storage space, then you may want to consider a 50/50 split.
Other options such as Samsung’s 689 litre French Door fridge offer multiple compartments which can easily switch between fridge and freezer functionality.
If you require additional cold storage space, it may be worth investing in a small fridge, wine and beverage cooler, or a chest freezer to complement your fridge freezer.
What features to look out for when choosing a fridge?
Frost free – The fridge automatically prevents frost from building up, which means you won’t need to defrost it. Preventing excessive frost build up is essential to prolong the lifespan of your fridge freezer. Useful for people with busy lifestyles who don’t have time to regularly perform a manual defrost themselves.
WiFi functionality – This allows a person to control your fridge freezer’s temperature settings from your phone, so if you’ve just done a large grocery shopping spree and want to prepare your fridge, it’s a simple matter of reaching for your phone. These also sometimes feature a camera inside the fridge, allowing you to easily check what you have stored inside from anywhere, for example while you’re still busy shopping and can’t remember if you have any milk left in the fridge.
Energy efficiency rating – Each fridge freezer is issued an energy rating, ranging from A+++ to D, with A+++ being the most energy efficient and D being the least efficient. It is important to bear in mind that these ratings are calculated relative to the size of the fridge. This means that a smaller fridge will generally use less electricity to run than a larger one, even if the larger model has a more efficient rating.
Expert Extended Maintenance Plan
Be sure not to forget about the Expert Extended Maintenance Plan available for all fridge freezers bought from Expert stores, whether online or through our local dealer network.
For no extra cost after the initial once-off fee, Teljoy EasyFix will cover your appliance for a maximum of three years after the manufacturer’s warranty lapses and will provide labour and parts as necessary to restore your faulty appliance to working order.
If you’re still unsure what fridge you need, simply give us a call on 087 095 5722 or pop us an email at hello@expertstores.co.za. You can also reach out to us on social media for more Expert advice.
