It may have been a while since you have been in the market for a refrigerator, whilst their purpose hasn't changed, there is new technology to keep your ingredients fresher for longer. With more style and configuration options on offer, we want to help make the decision process easy by creating this helpful refrigerator buying guide.
Refrigerator installation: Things to consider
When finding the right refrigerator for your household, you need to look at the space your refrigerator will live, such as whether you will have enough space to both fit it and give it the breathing space it requires. If you are building a new kitchen, choose your appliances first and build the cabinetry around them as they are elements that need the most consideration.
1. Kitchen layout
When it comes to designing the space for your refrigerator, you need to think about how you’d like to move around the room. It will be important to make sure your kitchen and appliances work with you. Things you need to consider are:
2. Consider your cabinetry
With your refrigerator, you need to ensure it fits within the cavity you have allocated for it, and it does not need to be a tight squeeze as each refrigerator has its own ventilation or breathing space requirements.
3. Kitchen triangle or work zones
When planning the layout of your kitchen, you need to think about how you want to work, whether it be collaboratively or individually. You can look to having a kitchen triangle or work zones configuration, and ultimately it comes down to the space you are working.
Work zones have it broken up into five zones: consumables, non-consumables, cleaning, preparation and cooking zones, which is the best layout for working with someone else. If your space is smaller, you should consider a kitchen triangle which your refrigerator, cooking appliances, and sink/dishwasher creating a triangle as if a line is drawn to link them together.
4. Purpose of your island bench
Whilst the position of your island bench does not have an enormous impact on your refrigerator purchasing decision, it is still something to consider when moving platters and other ingredients in and out of your refrigerator.
Refrigerator sizes
When choosing a refrigerator size or capacity, you will firstly need to think about what fits in your cavity space, however equally important to this is the consideration of your lifestyle and household size.
1. Lifestyle
Lifestyle considerations may be things such as whether you need a large freezer space, high energy efficiency a particular configuration such as freezer on top or bottom.
2. Household size
Whether you are living in a family home or with housemates, the amount in your household will affect what is ultimately the best refrigerator capacity for you. If you are on the fence about whether to go bigger or smaller, we advise you to go a little bit larger than you think as you may, at different times of the year, run out of space.
|
Household size (number of people) |
Refrigerator capacity/volume (litres) |
|
1 - 2 people |
200 - 380 litres |
|
3 - 4 people |
350 - 530 litres |
|
5+ people |
440+ litres |
3. Does it fit in your hallways and doorways?
You need to consider how much space you need to safely deliver your refrigerator into its new home, so be sure to measure the clearance before you buy.
4. What way does it need to open?
Whilst selected refrigerators can have their doors reversed; it is essential to consider what way you need to have your refrigerator door open, which could be limited by cabinetry and walls.
Side by Side refrigerators: Capacity & features
Providing easy access to your refrigerator & freezer, you will have the right balance between the two spaces without taking up a large footprint. Coming with features found in larger and smaller capacity refrigerators, you can easily organise your space.
1. Side by Side refrigerators: Capacity
500 - 620L
Ideal for:
- Families
- Medium household
- NutriFresh inverter compressor saves energy.
- TasteLock keeps vegetables fresh and tasty.
- TasteGuard keeps your fridge smelling fresh*.
- NutriFresh inverter compressor saves energy.
- TasteLock keeps vegetables fresh and tasty.
- TasteGuard keeps your fridge smelling fresh*.
2. Side by Side refrigerators: Features & settings
Quick chill function
Whether you have unexpected guests or are simply in a rush, you can use the Quick Chill function to cool things down quickly. For 20 minutes the refrigerator will bring its temperature down to cool down its contents, once the 20 minutes have elapsed the timer alarm will notify you.
Know your temperature
With temperature sensors and internal temperature display, you can see clearly what temperature your refrigerator and freezer are at with the touch of a button.
Easy electronic controls
With internal electronic controls, you can easily adjust the temperature on your refrigerator or freezer to match your needs and use functions such as Quick chill with a timer or quick freeze function effortlessly.
You won't leave the door open
With a door sensor and door alarm you are notified when you leave your refrigerator door open, helping you to have your refrigerator working at its best.
Frost free
With a built-in frost-free system, gone are the days of needing to schedule in the freezer defrost.
LED lighting
Our refrigerators have LED lighting helping you see every cm of your refrigerator, ensuring no ingredients or food goes to waste.
TasteLock crisper
Electrolux side by side refrigerators come with TasteLock crisper that allows you to keep your fruit and vegetables fresh and tasty for longer.
TasteGuard
Our TasteGuard uses a carbon filter to keep the compartment free from dangerous bacteria and unwanted odours, helping to preserve the quality of your food.
Bottom freezer refrigerators: Capacity & features
Perfect for a first refrigerator coming in a range of capacities, a Bottom Freezer refrigerator is perfect for a small family or apartment living where your space is limited. Coming with quite a few features seen in large capacity refrigerators, this layout is perfect for someone who wants easy access to their refrigerator over their freezer.
1. Bottom freezer refrigerators: Capacity
300 - 520L
Ideal for:
- Small family
- Apartment living
- Share house
- TasteSeal keeps fish for 7 days* without freezing.
- TasteLockAuto keeps vegetables fresh for 7 days*.
- EvenTemp reduces temperature fluctuations.
2. Bottom freezer refrigerators: Features & settings
Fresh meat and fish, all week
Enjoy tender meat and delicious seafood with fresh ingredients. Our TasteSeal compartment retains a consistent condition of -2°C to keep your meat and fish in prime temperature for up to 7 days without freezing.
Even temperature for tasty food
Our EvenTemp feature preserves your food fresh for longer by minimising temperature fluctuations. By keeping each shelf cool individually, a consistent temperature condition is well-maintained throughout the entire compartment, keeping delicious taste and texture for longer.
Twist. Serve. Enjoy.
Electrolux offers Twist and Serve ice maker feature to help you conveniently store cubed ice for your favourite chill drinks. Fill the ice tray with water, let it freeze for a while, and twist the knob to release the cubes into the storage container.
Besides the above features, top freezer refrigerators also come equipped with other highlight functions such as:
- TasteGuard
- TaseLock Crisper
Top freezer refrigerators: Capacity & features
A top freezer refrigerator is a more traditional layout of single door refrigerator with the freezer placed at the top for eye level access for your frozen ingredients or treats. This style of refrigerator would be suitable for a small family or apartment living where you access your freezer quite regularly.
1. Top freezer refrigerators: Capacity
250 - 500L
Ideal for:
- Small family
- Apartment living
- Share house
- TasteSeal keeps fish for 7 days* without freezing.
- TasteLockAuto keeps vegetables fresh for 7 days*.
- EvenTemp reduces temperature fluctuations.
- TasteSeal keeps fish for 7 days* without freezing.
- TasteLock keeps vegetables fresh and tasty.
- EvenTemp reduces temperature fluctuations.
- 360 Cooling maintains a stable temperature to keep food fresh for longer
- The unique convertible zone can be adjusted from +3°C to -12°C for flexible storage
2. Top freezer refrigerators: Features and settings
Excellent energy efficiency
By keeping the temperature in your refrigerator consistent, the NutriFresh inverter compressor helps to save energy efficiently, while still keeping food and drinks fresh.
Customisable door design
FlexStor makes it simple to customise the refrigerator to your needs with adjustable door bins and shelves. Electrolux refrigerators offer different sized compartments which effortlessly accommodate items big or small.
Hygienic, convenient storage
The stainless-steel tray is easy and simple to remove and wipe clean. It also ensures a hygienic and fresh condition for your meat and seafood.
Other features also offered for top freezer refrigerators include:
- Door alarm
- TasteGuard
- TasteLock crisper
- Twist&Serve Ice maker
- Taste Seal
Refrigerator design & other considerations
1. White, natural or dark stainless steel
We all know the expense that goes into renovating a kitchen and want it to last as long as possible, you can do this by using classic materials and having some elements elating to current trends as you don't want to be renovating every time the trend has made its way out.
Your appliance finish choice could be away to take your kitchen in a fresh new direction without taking too much risk. There are three options in appliance finishes with traditional white or a more modern update with natural or dark stainless steel.
2. Contrast or complement your cabinetry
When choosing a new refrigerator, it is important especially when you are fitting it into an existing kitchen, what finish would work with your cabinetry. If you have light colours such as bright whites or cream, you can use dark stainless steel as a contrast, adding a statement in a light kitchen or you could use it to complement a dark or stained wood kitchen.
3. Coordinate your accessories
When planning your kitchen design and thinking about styling elements such as lighting fixtures, splashback colours or artwork, it is important to consider what complements different elements of your kitchen. These can include cabinet colour or style, what finish you have chosen for your appliances and more.
4. Choose from one brand
One thing to note when upgrading your kitchen is, just as there are 52 shades of white, same goes for appliance finishes. For the best results, buy your appliances from one brand to make sure everything is seamless.
5. Does your refrigerator need to be plumbed?
When looking at refrigerators that come with an ice and water dispenser, you will need to consider the need for it to be plumbed, which could add to the cost of installation where models without are plug and play.
Read more: Step-by-step guide on how to clean your refrigerator properly
Warranty & service
1. Warranty
Subject to terms and conditions our refrigerators come with 2-5 years warranty in Hong Kong, following the date of purchase and depending on product model. Click here to view Terms and Conditions.
2. Support & service
We have a Customer Care team available to assist you over the phone from Monday to Saturday, giving you peace of mind that your appliance is in good hands. Click here to contact customer care.
FAQs about how to choose a refrigerator
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Question 1: What is a bottom mount refrigerator?
A bottom mount refrigerator is simply a refrigerator that has the freezer compartment at the bottom. They come in a variety of sizes (litres), allowing you to select based on your food storage needs.
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Question 2: What is a French door refrigerator freezer?
French door refrigerators are two door refrigerators designed for larger households as they have additional storage space.
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Question 3: What temperature should a refrigerator be?
According to U.S. Food and Drug Administration, refrigerator temperature is recommended to be at or below 4° Celsius. However, not all refrigerators are equipped with a thermometer, making determining the right temperature confusing. Fortunately, the price of refrigerator thermometer is considerably cheap and can be bought at most kitchen appliance stores.
