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How to Choose and Buy an American Fridge Freezer

Before buying an American fridge freezer you need to ask yourself some questions:

Can you get an American Style Fridge Freezer into your home?

Measure any doorways or narrow passageways that you will have to manoeuvre the fridge freezer through in order to get it into your kitchen. If you think that you might have to remove the fridge freezer’s doors to get it through your house, make sure that you check that you can remove and refit the doors on any model that you are considering.

If you live in a flat or apartment then make sure there is enough room for delivery people to manoeuvre your fridge freezer around the corners of stairwells. If you have a lift, make sure that there’s room in it for both the fridge freezer and the delivery people.

Will an American Fridge Freezer fit into your kitchen or utility room?

Check the dimensions of the model that you are considering, and also bear in mind that you will need to leave enough ventilation space around the fridge freezer so that it can operate efficiently. You’ll need about 25mm to 50mm of space all the way round.

However, you may be surprised to learn that American style fridge freezers are usually only around 400mm wider than standard fridge freezers.

Can you position it within easy access of an electricity socket and a standard washing machine connector?

An American style fridge freezer needs to be within one metre of a power socket.

Some models have their own water filter, so that they can produce chilled water and dispense ice. These models will need to be plumbed in, so will need to be within one metre of a suitable plumbing connection.

When choosing a brand and model of American-style fridge freezer, you’ll also need to take the following factors into account:

Fridge and Freezer Capacity

Fridge and freezer capacities can vary depending on the brand and model of American fridge freezer, so consider how much storage space you want for each area. When checking product descriptions, it’s better to use the net capacity rather than the gross capacity given as a guideline.

Twin Cooling Systems

If an American-style fridge freezer has a twin cooling system, it means that the fridge and freezer compartments have separate cooling systems so that the air between the two never mixes. This ensures that humidity levels in the fridge are constant, keeping food fresher and increasing the fridge freezer’s efficiency.

Individual compartments of American Fridge Freezers

Many American-style fridge freezers have different compartment features for salads, drinks, fish, vegetables and ready meals. Some also have chilled water and ice dispensers.

Make sure that you choose a model with the features that you definitely need and don’t buy a model just for the sake of having extra features. If you don’t think you’ll need chilled water, don’t buy a model with this feature as you will need to plumb it into the kitchen.

Energy Efficiency

American fridge freezers are graded from A to G for energy efficiency. A is the most energy efficient and G is the least energy efficient.

You can find a number of A-graded models on the market, including all those featured on our Top Models – American Style Fridge Freezers page.

Frost Free American Fridge Freezers

A Frost Free freezer keeps food fresh for longer and means that you don’t need to defrost it. It also means that food labels are easier to read as they don’t get covered in frost.

However, if your American-style fridge freezer becomes inefficient after a few years, you may see frost developing.

Background Noise from American Fridge Freezers

The size of American-style fridge freezers means that they tend to make slightly more background noise than standard fridge freezers. However, some models have been designed to reduce the noise impact.

Further Information

If you are interested in buying an American fridge freezer online, visit our Where to Buy section, which includes details about some of the leading online suppliers and their postage and packing costs, delivery timescales, and returns and refunds policies.

You can find out more about the different brands and models available in our Brands and Top Models sections.

If you are not sure what fridge, fridge freezer, freezer or chiller is right for you, have a look at our Types section.