At several points in everyone’s life, there is either a need to store food or a craving for cold drink. From helping us save money by keeping our perishables fresh, to the chilling re-hydration refrigerators help provide, they have become a must have for everyone who can afford them. So if you can, then you should get one. But before making that step, here are some things you should know:
Types of Refrigerator
In terms of style, you have about four types to choose from. Each of these types come with their distinct pros and cons. Choosing a type is the first major step in making your final decision. The types are:
Top Freezer This is probably the image that pops in your head when I mention the word ‘refrigerator’. Chances are, most of us grew up knowing this kind of refrigerator before the other inventions. This type of refrigerator has a large compartment for fresh food storage at the bottom and a freezing compartment sitting on top. You could probably remember when you used to try to reach for ice cream in the freezer but couldn’t until you were big enough to. Whatever the reason for placing the freezer at the top may be, it really does a great job at keeping the little ones away plus it is more affordable than the other types of refrigerators and as such, it is best for bargain buyers who do not care much about style. | Bottom Freezer If you do not have little ones to worry about and want a break from the old school refrigerator style, this one could be for you. It is the reverse of the top freezer and yes, you guessed right, the freezer is located at the bottom and the fresh food storage compartment is located at the top. This means you may have to stoop to access the freezer. some models have the bottom door of this refrigerator in a drawer form, kind of makes it easier to reach out for your ice cream. The bottom freezer is well suited for home cooks who wouldn’t want to always bend to reach their commonly used ingredients. |
Side by Side Doors If you have never heard of a refrigerator that helps you manage space, permit me to introduce you to the side by side doors refrigerator which has its doors positioned beside each other, offering you frozen food on one side and fresh on the other. With this, you wouldn’t have to bend often to reach your items, except they are kept on the bottom shelf. Some brands apportion greater space to the cooling compartment while others keep them equal. Due to it’s vertical nature, this refrigerator requires lesser space than it’s horizontal counterpart. You only need to open the doors half it’s length to reach your items. If you love style and have limited space, this is for you | French Door The french door refrigerator combines the feature of the double door refrigerator and the bottom freezer refrigerator. This means that with this, you’ll have a fridge at the top having two doors and a freezer at the bottom. With the fridge having two doors, the amount of cold that escapes when you open the door is reduced because you probably would need to open just one door at a time except when you need to get something large in or out of the fridge. Good for domestic use and for those who want something more stylish than usual. This refrigerator sometimes comes with a water and ice dispencer which makes it easier to get water and ice. |
If you have decided on the type of refrigerator you need, then you have won half the battle. But don’t take out that wallet yet, you still have the following to consider:
Do I want a counter-depth refrigerator?
A counter-depth refrigerator is just your regular refrigerator fashioned in a way that it doesn’t exceed the depth of your kitchen counter making it seem as though it were a part of your kitchen cabinet. Only the doors of the refrigerator goes beyond the depth of the counter. It is for those who want their kitchen arranged in a particular pattern and wouldn’t mind giving up extra cash for that.
Storage Space
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| What’s the use of a refrigerator if it doesn’t have enough storage space? Isn’t storage a major reason why we want refrigerators? No matter the type of refrigerator you want, it has to have enough space to store your perishables. Having several shelves isn’t just enough, you need to look out for refrigerators with shelves that slide in or fold up. This will help create room for tall items. Refrigerators come in litres too. You’d find litres from about 50L (lower for mini fridges) to about 700L, so based on your need, you should decide on the capacity to buy. |
Ice and water Dispenser
| If you do not mind trading storage space for ice and water, you might want a refrigerator that has a dispenser. Offers better convenience but consumes more energy. |
Number of Shelves
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Multiple shelves would aid in stacking several items. To a large extent, it maximizes the storage space but at the same time, it could be a serious problem if you have tall items to store. That is why you need shelves that fold up or slide in. |
Defrosting Type
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| As your freezer keeps working, the water vapor that hits the cold coil condenses and then freezes. If left that way, the frost could build up until you’d have no more room for storage. Hence your need for periodical defrosting. Some refrigerators have the frost-free feature while others have to be defrosted manually. |
- Frost-free: Refrigerators with this feature have a timer, a heating coil and a temperature sensor. The timer turns on the heater at a set time which helps defrost the ice and when the temperature sensor senses the temperature rising above 32 degree F, it turns off the heater. Defrosting with this kind of refrigerator is completely automatic but consumes more energy than manual defrosting and also subjects food stored to regular temperature change.
- Manual Defrosting: This only means that the refrigerator has no provision for defrosting. All of the processes would have to be carried out by you and this includes turning the temperature control off and unplugging your freezer.
Star Rating
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| The more the number of stars, the higher the level of the refrigerator’s energy efficiency. The most energy efficient refrigerators have five stars while the least efficient have two stars. one star means that no effort has been carried out to improve efficiency. |
Price
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| There is no mentioning, it is in no way sensible to not give this a thought. Matter of fact, this is the major determinant of whether you would be able to buy a refrigerator or not. Always remember as a rule of thumb for most appliances ‘the fancier, the pricier’. If the price would cause a quake in your budget, then don’t sweat it, it’s no crime going for one with less style. Extra features are just an icing on the cake, the aim is to cool and store, and that every refrigerator does. |
Jumia offers several types and brands of refrigerators at prices you’d love. So, to shop for refrigerators specifically, you can click here and to aid your shopping experience, use the price filter to narrow your search. Also, remember to always stop by our website for your general shopping.