May 08, 2024
American Style Fridge Freezer Buying Guide
With so many different variants of American style fridge freezers to choose from, it can be difficult to find one that works for you. Here we’ll guide you through everything you need to know to find the perfect refrigerator with lots of storage for your home.
What Is An American Style Fridge Freezer?
An American style fridge freezer is a type of large-capacity fridge freezer. They often come with many sought-after features, such as ice and water dispensers or smart technology. Due to their large size and versatility, American style fridge freezers are bought by family households as a food storage solution and kitchen statement-piece.
Is An American Style Fridge Freezer Right For You?
Before taking the leap and investing in a stunning new American style fridge freezer, it’s first worth considering if they are the best choice for you and your household. Although this style of refrigeration offers many benefits and high quality features, their large size isn’t suitable for every home.
Pros Of An American Style Fridge Freezer
These fridge freezers can cope with a larger-than-average shop. The smaller models can hold ~22 shopping bags worth of food. Larger models can have storage space for up to 38 bags!
American style fridge freezers make practical use of the latest technology, with features that keep your food fresher for longer.
Their sheer size and impressive designs make a bold statement in any kitchen.
With plumbed-in options, you can enjoy unlimited chilled and filtered water, plus ice cubes or crushed ice on demand.
Cons Of An American Style Fridge Freezer
Your fridge should be filled by at least two-thirds. This helps to keep your food cool and maintain efficiency. If you’re unable to fill the space, it’s worth asking whether you need this much space.
If you have a smaller kitchen, it’s possible that an American style fridge freezer will take up too much room. You also need to ensure you have enough space to not only fit it but also open the doors up fully.
Types Of American Style Fridge Freezers
Side by Side
The original, and most common, style of American style fridge freezer is the side by side fridge freezer, otherwise known as the two door.
The side by side style has an upright fridge compartment next to an upright freezer compartment. This layout makes it simple to organise fresh and frozen food. They also tend to have compartments in the door for even more storage space. This makes it even easier to separate your foods and view everything at once.
French Door
French door fridge freezers, also known as French style, typically feature the freezer as a pull-out drawer below two fridge doors. This is a popular design as most of the fridge can be seen at eye level.
This type of fridge freezer is a great option for households that buy more fresh food than frozen food. That’s because they have a much larger fridge space than freezer, with their fridge compartment being bigger on average than side by side models. However, due to the location and size of the freezer, it does mean that you will need to bend down for access and you may find there’s less freezer capacity than other models.
Four Door
A four door model has two doors at the top for the fridge, and two doors at the bottom for the freezer. Because of the position of the freezer, four door models are often classed as French style, with the added benefit of more doors and ease of access. They provide excellent use of the large capacity, with plenty of storage shelves and drawers.
Because each door opens to a smaller section, this model also helps the appliance run more efficiently. This is because less heat is lost with each opening of the door.
A further advantage to the four door model is the possibility for convertible fridge freezer spaces. This is a feature that converts a space into either a fridge or freezer, depending on your needs. Four door models are therefore a great choice for versatility and efficiency.
Things To Consider When Buying An American Fridge Freezer
Capacity
American style fridge freezers are known for their huge capacities. This is the main reason for their popularity, and often why they are chosen over other fridge freezers. Therefore, this style of fridge freezer is best suited for larger households who need more refrigerator space.
Larger households will often require a refrigeration capacity of over 400L. If you find that you’re always playing a game of Jenga when putting your weekly shop away, you may need a capacity upgrade. American style fridge freezers typically have a capacity range between 400L – 700L. This is loads of space to play with!
Dimensions
One of the most attractive features of an American style fridge freezer is its sheer size and shape. They’re taller and wider than regular fridges and freezers, meaning you can fit more into them. However, because of this, you need to make sure that it will fit into your space.
These refrigeration heroes aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution, so it’s important to check the dimensions of each model you look at.
How Do You Measure For A New American Style Fridge Freezer?
Now that you know what the dimensions of an American style fridge freezer can be, you need to know how to measure a space for it to fit in.
If the space in your kitchen or utility room is 85cm wide, buying an American style fridge freezer that is the same size won’t work. Below we’ve put together some instructions to help you measure your space properly.
- Measure the width, height and depth of the space. Double check these measurements and write them down.
- Measure again from a different place, just in case anything is uneven and the measurements are different. If so, always go off of the smallest measurement.
- Take into account space for ventilation. You’ll need 2cm at the sides and 4 or 5cm for ventilation at the back.
- Make sure your doors and hallways are wide enough to get an American style fridge freezer through and into your kitchen.
- Don’t forget to think about how your doors will open when measuring the space for a new fridge freezer. They will need to open more than 90 degrees, so can’t be placed in a corner.
For models with shelves and trays within the fridge, the doors will need to open fully to allow the drawers to slide out. Be mindful of this when measuring and buying a new American style fridge freezer.
