Kitchen Appliances

REFRIGERATORS

There are many options to choose from when shopping for a new refrigerator. Choices
include a variety of models and styles that have new convenience and energy-saving features.
Before purchasing a refrigerator, it is a good idea to measure the space available for
the new refrigerator as well as door and hallway clearances. These measurements can be
compared to the refrigerator s outside dimensions to make sure it will fit into the kitchen.
When deciding what size of refrigerator to purchase, a rule-of-thumb is a minimum of
12 cubic feet for the first two persons in the household, plus 2 more cubic feet for each
additional person.

NEW MODELS

The newest side-by-side refrigerators are the three-door models. Some
have upper freezers that allow easy access to frequently used items with a minimal loss of
cold air as well as lower freezers for long-term frozen food storage.
For families that require a lot of refrigerator space, there are the separate refrigerator
and freezer units designed to be used together. These units can be as large as
30 cubic feet each.
Built-in refrigerators and freezers are made to be flush with surrounding cabinets.
To create the built-in look, custom panels can be placed on doors to match cabinets. Unlike
top-mounted refrigerator/freezer models, which are about 30 inches deep, built-ins are only 24
inches deep. Some of the built-in refrigerator/freezers are taller, as much as 19 inches higher
than top-mounted refrigerator/freezers, and they are 5 inches wider.

DEFROST SYSTEMS

With manual-defrost systems, the removal of frost and condensation from both the
fresh food and freezer compartments are entirely manual.
In partial automatic or cycle defrost systems, only the fresh food compartment is
defrosted automatically. The freezer compartment must be emptied and manually defrosted.
In automatic or no-frost systems, frost is removed automatically in both the
refrigerator and freezer compartments.

NEW FEATURES

Through-the-door dispensers dispense ice and water
through the door of the freezer compartment.
Although these dispensers reduce door-storage space, they
also eliminate the need to open the refrigerator and/or freezer
door every time ice or water is desired. The refrigerator must
be plumbed to get a water supply, which is an additional
installation cost.
Adjustable shelves give the consumer flexibility in
food storage. Shelves come in traditional open-wire or in
tempered glass. Tempered glass shelves prevent spills from
reaching the foods below.
Glide-out rollers allow the consumer to clean behind
and under the refrigerator. With glide-out
rollers, one person can easily move a refrigerator away from the wall.
Condenser-coils can be mounted on the front bottom,
back bottom, the entire back, or the top of the refrigerator. If
the condenser coils are mounted on the bottom front of the
refrigerator, they are easy to clean but collect a lot of dust.
Coils mounted on the bottom back of the refrigerator can be
cleaned by moving the refrigerator out from the wall. These
types of coil systems generally require less cleaning because
they collect less dust. Frequent cleaning is important because
dust acts as an insulator, thus increasing energy use.
Condenser coils mounted on the top of the refrigerator
are more energy efficient because the heated air escapes into
the room rather than heating the refrigerator. Because hot air rises, bottom-mounted
condenser coils heat up the refrigerator body, even though a fan blows heated air out in front
of the refrigerator.
Another important feature is a reversible door, which allows the consumer to choose
the direction the door opens. On some refrigerators, an indication of a reversible door is a
button on the top side of the refrigerator.