Refrigerator is truly an integral part of every home. The choice of refrigerator brand and model you want to buy will depend on the number of people in the house as well as your food habits. Roughly a two member family would require a fridge anywhere between 50 to 200 litres. However, if you like your steak and chilled beer you might want a higher capacity refrigerator. Also if you do only a weekend shopping, a higher capacity fridge is what you should look at. TYPE OF REFRIGERATOR Refrigerator types are simple - direct cool, cyclical and frost-free refrigerator. Direct cooling ones are mostly single door refrigerators and frost-free refrigerators are mostly double and multiple doors. Direct Cool refrigerators Direct cool fridges only come with single door. They need to be defrosted which can be automatic or semi automatic or manual defrosting. They are the cheapest in running and service.Typically they do not come in capacity more than 350 litres. Frost Free refrigerators Cool air is continuously circulated so there's no ice build-up and hence no need to defrost. They are technologically far superior to direct cool fridges. They consume more current than direct cool refrigerators by not allowing ice formation. Frost free refrigerators are easier to maintain, have less odour and maintain food fresh for longer duration. Frost free technology is restricted to double or higher number of door refrigerators only as this technology needs a separate chiller unit. Cyclic cooling They have a unique cyclic defrost system with auto evaporation and hence save around 30% electricity as compared to frost free models. There are a very few models available generally abt 350 litre capacity. These are not very common. The abundant variety comes in the form of capacity. You can choose from mini, small, medium and large refrigerators. Mini (50 to 100 litres) : perfect for your studio apartment or bachelor pad; just enough for one person to store the occasional can of beer and juices along with bare food items. These are really small, single door refrigerators. Small (170 to 200 litres) : just right for a couple or even a small kitchen. This one is small and wont take too much space while giving you just enough to store your weekly groceries. You would go for this if you were on a tight budget. These are single door refrigerators. Medium (200 to 450 litres) : This is for the nuclear household. Not too small yet not too big. Reasonably priced these provide ample storage with enough features that are value for money. These could be single as well as double door refrigerators. Large (450 to 800 litres) : For the big home and big budget. These refrigerators are right out of the lifestyles of the rich and famous catalogue. You would go for this if you have a large household and are really fond of throwing elaborate dos. The large sized could be double door, three door, bottom mounted, side-by-side.

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These are one of the oldest and conventional refrigerators. As the name suggests, they come with a single door. The upper portion here is a freezer, the middle portion is a refrigerator and the bottom portion has a vegetable bin. Single-door refrigerators start from 50 ltrs and go up to 300 ltrs. These are entry-level refrigerators and are in the low-price range.

Pros

• Is available in smaller sizes for smaller usage
• Fits in a small space
• Freezer section is more efficient
• Ideal for small offices/clinics and grocery stores

Cons

• Manual defrosting required twice in a week. If defrosting is not done in time, the defrosting water tray might spill, causing a mess
• Not available above 300 ltrs
• Since all three sections (freezer, refrigerator and vegetable bin) are together, odour mixture in the food is common
• Heat-exchanging pipes/coils are visible (not concealed) in most of the single-door refrigerators

Out of two doors, one door is for the freezer section and the other is for the refrigerator and vegetable sections. They either have a freezer section on top and refrigerator and vegetable sections at the bottom or vice versa. They start from 200 ltrs and go up to 660 ltrs. These are the highest-selling refrigerators and are in mid-price range.

Pros

• Bigger vessels/ beverage bottles can be accommodated, depending upon the capacity of the refrigerator
• Available in wired shelves (weight-holding capacity: 90 kg), acrylic shelves (weight-holding capacity: 40 kg) and toughened glass (weight-holding capacity: 90 kg)
• Refrigerators with acrylic/ toughened glass will have a unique temperature in each compartment

Cons

• Deodorizer feature not available in smaller sizes
• Not available in smaller sizes
• The vegetable section is smaller compared to a three-door refrigerator
• If the refrigerator section located in the lower part, you have to bend down to get the vegetables

A three-door refrigerator has one door for the refrigerator section, one for the vegetable section and another for the freezer section. In this type of refrigerator, the refrigerator section is on top, the vegetable section is in the middle and the freezer section is at the bottom. These refrigerators start at 300 ltrs and go up to 450 ltrs. This type of refrigerator is preferred by vegetarian families as the vegetable section is quite convenient to open. It is in the mid-price range.

Pros

• Since the refrigerator and vegetable sections are at the top, you don’t have to bend down too much
• Odour mixing is avoided completely as the three sections are separate
• Some three-door refrigerators come with automatic ice dispensers
• These refrigerators have a thin outer body so they take up less space
• The vegetable section is bigger compared to other refrigerators and is generally divided into two parts

Cons

• Limited space to keep bigger beverage bottles
• Bigger vessels cannot be accommodated
• Generally comes with acrylic shelves that can take only 40 kg

A four-door side-by-side refrigerator is similar to a two-door side-by-side refrigerator, more like a cupboard with left and right halves, except that both these halves also have two doors. The entire top half is the refrigerator and vegetable section and the entire bottom half is the freezer section. It comes only in 660 ltrs. Like the two-door side-by-side refrigerators, these also are high-end models. Since these are high-end refrigerators, the price range also is quite high.

Pros

• All shelves are made of toughened glass that can hold a weight of 90 kg
• Bigger vessels/ beverage bottles can be accommodated easily
• Comes with a water dispenser, but does not need to be connected to a permanent water connection, so no permanent plumbing is required
• You don’t need to open the entire section to take out a particular item

Cons

• Not available in smaller sizes
• Very bulky and hence difficult to move around
• Does not come with an ice cube dispenser

There are three types of shelves - wired, acrylic and tempered glass. The sturdiest ones are the tempered glass as they can hold up to 100 kgs. Most refrigerators come with clean backs these days. The clean back (or coil-free) refrigerators have condenser coils that are mounted at the bottom of the refrigerator and not at the back (as in most old refrigerators). Clean backs make cleaning easier and provide a safety cover for the compressor. If your refrigerator is placed in your living room, a clean back looks better since the black coils at the back are absent. You should check the noise level of the fridge. Some refrigerators use patented technologies to reduce the humming sound else the fridge can make noise which can disturb your sleep and peace. A quick-freezing component in a fridge may be available as a small colder compartment within the freezer or as a knob that allows you to adjust the temperature of the freezer. If you are a party person or need ice regularly at a short notice, this feature would be particularly useful for you. This eliminates the odour from your refrigerator and keeps the food fresh and tasty for a longer period of time. The door lock option prevents children or other people from opening the refrigerator without supervision. You would definitely want to have this feature if there are kids, in the house. Look for separators since they help organize your refrigerator better. A separator also helps you store more fruits and vegetables and prevents the softer ones from being crushed under heavier ones. Moisture and humidity controls in a refrigerator help to retain the freshness of fruits and vegetables. This feature is particularly useful if you shop in advance for the whole week or require storing food for long periods of time. Another cool option is a reversible door swing option, which allows you to change or adapt the door swing of the refrigerator from left to right or from right to left to suit your requirement. This facility is useful if you are undecided about the placement of your refrigerator or need to change residence frequently. If your work requires you to change homes regularly, this feature allows you to easily fit into any kitchen. This is not an absolute must have. This feature is in fact available only in the high-end refrigerator models. It lets you drink chilled water and gives crushed or cubed ice without opening the door.

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Also read,

• Refrigerator Maintenance Guide
• How to Keep Your Refrigerator Clean?
• Where to Place Refrigerator?

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