Kitchen Appliances / Fridge Freezers

Fridge freezer basics

Many of those in the market for a fridge freezer are focused on style and storage space. This appliance can make a big impact on the look of a kitchen. A stainless steel finish remains popular, though such models tend to be pricey and are hard to keep free of fingerprint marks. For several of the white models on test, there are also silver or coloured versions but these will generally be more expensive than the white option. An integrated or built-in appliance will create a unified and streamlined look in your kitchen but these models tend to cost more than equivalent freestanding models and there is less choice available.

Beyond style, a fridge freezer needs to be spacious enough to accommodate the household’s needs – and this is why our table provides information on the usable storage space in litres of both the fridge and freezer compartments in the models on test. Our measurements of usable space are generally less – and sometimes significantly so – than the storage space claimed by the manufacturer. And because a fridge freezer is a hardworking appliance that runs non-stop around the clock, energy efficiency is an important factor. Look at our energy-use scores to find the appliances that use the least electricity for their capacity.

The most basic criteria of all is that your fridge freezer will fit the space available in your kitchen. Don’t forget to factor in the door swing in relation to adjacent walls, doors, presses and other appliances. On our table below, we provide the height, width and depth of each model rounded upwards to the nearest centimetre. You may also need to leave an extra few centimetres of space around these appliances for the air to circulate – the manufacturer’s manual will have recommendations on the amount of space to allow – so this should be taken into account in any measurements. Some models have reversible doors to give you more positioning options, and if your appliance has to be located next to a wall, make sure that all shelves are removable with the door at a 90° angle, as this is important for access and cleaning.

Appliance configuration

Another aspect to consider when purchasing a new fridge freezer is what configuration you are looking for – whether the freezer compartment will be located at the top or on the bottom of the appliance. Appliances with a top-mounted freezer tend to have lower price tags and to be more economical and energy efficient to run. This is due to the nature of convection or the way the air circulates in response to differences in temperature. Warmer air rises and cooler air falls – so with a top-mount freezer the natural flow of the cold air created takes it down into the fresh food compartment and requires less work by the circulation system. A top-mounted freezer is also positioned a long way from the appliance’s compressor, which produces heat, so the freezer is easier to keep cold compared with a bottom-mounted freezer that requires more energy to maintain its low temperature due to its proximity to the heat-producing compressor.

However, the fridge compartment where fresh produce is kept is used a lot more than the freezer compartment, so it is much more convenient to have the fridge section at eye level where it is easily accessible and where there is no bending involved. For this reason, bottom-mounted freezers have grown greatly in popularity despite their higher purchase and running costs. Other drawbacks to bottom-mounted freezers are that the freezer may take longer to chill and that, as the salad crisper is located at the bottom of the fridge, this places it very close to the freezer compartment – and so the crisper may be too cold and your vegetables will run the risk of ice-burn.

Whether you need a 70/30, 60/40 or 50-50 fridge freezer combination depends on the type and amount of food you buy and how much freezing you do. Those who like to do a big weekly shop or to bulk-buy groceries will need a large-capacity appliance and should look for features that will maximise their storage options.

Making life easy

Fridge freezers typically get plenty of use in an average day and those in the market for a new appliance should consider some elements and features that will make using it as easy and versatile as possible. Door handles should be positioned at a convenient height and should allow for easy opening and closing – it is worth remembering that doors will require more force to open when the appliance is operating, as opposed to a display model on a shop floor that is not plugged in.

Choosing an appliance with glass shelves rather than wire shelves prevents food and meat juices from dripping onto other items below, and there should be a sufficient range of shelves and shelf positions that you won’t need to stack your food items on top of each other. Shelves that are height adjustable allow you to organise the interior of your fridge to make the most of the available space and let you rearrange the configuration if you need to accommodate bulkier items like the occasional large birthday cake or a turkey at Christmas. Similarly, half-width or split shelves and height-adjustable door racks to allow you to stow away taller items and give you plenty of options that can be tweaked as different storage needs arise. All shelves and door racks should be simple to remove for cleaning purposes.

Opting for transparent freezer doors, rather than opaque ones, lets you see instantly what you have in your freezer and deep drawers are useful for storing large, awkward-shaped items like a chicken or a joint of meat. A more advanced feature that could be worth investing in is frost-free technology, which is aimed at preventing the build-up of ice in the freezer compartment and eliminates the time-consuming job of having to defrost it. On some appliances, the fridge compartment is also frost free to prevent condensation from freezing and to stop the formation of ice. Other advanced features include high-temperature and door-open alarms that sound if the temperature in the appliance rises too high or if you have accidentally not shut the door properly – however, such features will push up the cost.