He enjoys visiting factories and learning about regulatory loopholes, and has flooded our testing area only three times. When in doubt, check the yellow Energy Guide sticker on any model to get an idea of its energy consumption and estimated costs of operation. The stickers all have text and graphics to represent the range of operating costs within a category; look for a model with a cost on the lower end of the scale. The first, simplest step toward picking a more sustainable fridge is to make sure it uses climate-friendly R600a refrigerant, as many current models do. If the refrigerant leaks, it’ll have no effect on the ozone layer and a negligible effect on global warming. When you buy a premium refrigerator, you’re paying for the look or the features, not a more reliable product.
To your account to save and access your shopping cart on your desktop, tablet, or mobile device. Tossing out an old window AC unit is complicated—but with major potential consequences for improper disposal, it’s worth doing it right. If you want to try to thread the needle with a big, good-looking fridge that isn’t on the Energy Star Most Efficient list but is still pretty efficient, here are some rules of thumb to help you narrow your search. The Café CVE28DP4NW2 has LED lights across its back wall for better visibility, an auto-fill water dispenser, and compartments with humidity controls.
GE Appliances is owned by Haier, which also sells the budget Hotpoint and city-sized Haier brands, though we don’t have much info about those. If your knob is a dial that has a blue strip, the darker blue/thicker side indicates the coldest setting. Frigidaire fridge If your model has a thermostat with temperatures in °C /F, set it to the coolest temperature. Danby’s refrigerators and freezers operate at a sound level between 35 and 46 decibels. This is within the normal decibel range for modern refrigerators.
Their ratings of the organizational features weren’t quite as high, either. At less than 20 inches wide and 36 inches tall, the beauty of this mini fridge is that not only does it take Frigidaire fridge up very little space, but it can hold a deceptive amount of food. It comes with a removable, slide-out glass shelf, which allows you to organize the fridge according to your needs.
Our overall pick is the most versatile mini fridge we could find, with room for everything from cans and condiments to takeout boxes, as well as a pint of ice cream or a couple of ice trays in the freezer section. If you’re looking for a mini fridge that you can put to work in a pinch as either a fridge Frigidaire fridge or a freezer, this is the easiest, most compact and stowable option around, and came recommended to us by the experts at Liberty Home Guard. I looked at this fridge this morning, and I found the specs (4.3 cu.ft) suspect. Target has another Whirlpool with the exact same dimensions listing 3.5 cu.ft.
Top-freezer models are a lot more affordable and can fit really small spaces. Bottom-freezer fridges usually lack the high-end look of French-door models but have a lot of the same practical advantages. Four-door models (equal-size half-width, half-height, swing-open doors) and column designs (all-fridge no-freezer, and vice versa) have their place, too. Once you’ve nailed down a budget for your new mini fridge, you’ll next have to decide what you want to use it for.
The body of this mini fridge is designed to sit flush with your kitchen cabinets as well, if you want to tuck it under your counter for extra cold storage, allowing it to blend into your decor and other appliances. Mini fridges are also fairly affordable, retailing for just a few hundred dollars for a 3 to 4 cubic foot model, though it is possible to find some for even cheaper. And there are very expensive high-end models that would be at home in a commercial kitchen or a fancy home-chef kitchen that come with motion-activated interior lights, touch controls, and door alarms. To help you find the perfect mini fridge for your budget and needs, I put together a list of the five best models you can buy.
Wide but shallow fridges, like counter-depth French-door models, might represent a happy medium. These fridges are big enough to help minimize shopping trips, they might reduce the amount of time you spend looking for items, and they are compact enough to save some energy. Any prediction about reliability is based on data about older fridges. That’s a reasonable way to try to do it, but there isn’t much of that historical data to begin with, especially outside of the five major brands.