While upgrading refrigerator for their homes people in India nowadays are considering side by side by models too if budget is not a factor. Most get attracted to bigger size side by side fridge mostly shown in TV ads. Double door models are hardly shown.
Lets discuss if for a typical Indian home is it a wise decision to buy a side by side refrigerator. Biggest factor against side by side refrigerator is freezer to fridge ratio(space of freezer out of total available space). In side by side refrigerators this is approx 40:60% of total space while in normal double door fridge it is 20:80%. Infact in single door refrigerators its even lower at 10:90%.
This is good mostly for working couple who like to cook and freeze there food on weekends so as to use it on working days. I doubt we have that kind of culture in India as we are strictly against frozen foods as our parents love to cook due to easily available fresh veggies from cart/vendor nearby.
Plus there is extra power consumption too due to this higher freezer space ratio. You’ll mostly notice that these side by side refrigerators are low on star rating due to this and become a major cost in electricity bills.
Better alternative for Indian home is to instead buy a refrigerator with following features:
- Bottom Freezer – So that fridge part is easily accessible as Women mostly tend to have back problems.
- Inverter compressor – Not only these are latest and power saving. These also tend to operate on wide range on voltage thus saving transformer cost and are super silent too.
- Convertible fridge – Are the future where you can change freezer to fridge mode or even put it off for holidays. Tend to save power and increase life of compressor too.
- Spend more on 5star or 4star power saving models as refrigerator is kept on 24/7 365 days.
Have a look at few good Bottom Freezer Refrigerators:
Haier 325 L, 3 Star, Convertible 14-in-1 Triple Inverter & Fan Motor Technology, with Display Frost Free Double Door Bottom Mount Refrigerator (HEB-333DS-P, Dazzle Steel, 2024 Model)
- Frost Free Refrigerator : Premium Auto Defrost Refrigerator with powerful cooling and long lasting freshness and performance with Convertible 14in1 & Triple Inverter & Fan Motor Technology
- Capacity 325 Litres: Suitable for families with 3 to 4 members | Freezer capacity: 85 Ltr , Fresh food capacity: 240 Ltr
- Energy Rating: 3 Stars - Energy Efficiency
- Manufacturer Warranty : The product comes with a 1 year comprehensive warranty and a 10 years warranty on the inverter compressor
- Triple Inverter Compressor provides greater energy efficiency, less noise and long-lasting performance, backed up by 10 years warranty
Haier 355 L, 3 Star, Convertible 14-in-1 Triple Inverter & Fan Motor Technology, with Display Frost Free, Bottom Mounted Double Door Refrigerator (HEB-363TS-P, Inox Steel, 2024 Model)
- Frost Free Refrigerator : Premium Auto Defrost Refrigerator with powerful cooling and long lasting freshness and performance with Convertible 14in1 & Triple Inverter & Fan Motor Technology
- Capacity 355 Litres: Suitable for families with 3 to 4 members | Freezer capacity: 85 Ltr , Fresh food capacity: 270 Ltr
- Energy Rating: 3 Stars - Energy Efficiency
- Manufacturer Warranty : The product comes with a 1 year comprehensive warranty and a 10 years warranty on the inverter compressor
- Triple Inverter Compressor provides greater energy efficiency, less noise and long-lasting performance, backed up by 10 years warranty
Haier 237 L, 3 Star, 8 In 1 Convertible, Twin Inverter Technology, Bottom Mounted Double Door Refrigerator (HEB-243GS-P, Moon Silver, 2024 Model)
- Frost Free Refrigerator: Premium Auto Defrost with powerful cooling and long lasting freshness and performance. Manage your flexible storage needs with Convertible 8in1 technology : |Normal Mode|Veg Mode|Vacation Mode|Surprise Party Mode|Summer Mode|Turbo Mode|Home Alone Mode|Freezer Mode
- Capacity 237 Litres: Suitable for families with 3 to 4 members | Freezer capacity: 66 Ltr , Fresh food capacity: 171 Ltr
- Energy Rating: 3 Stars - Energy Efficiency
- Manufacturer Warranty : The product comes with a 1 year comprehensive warranty on Product and a 10 years warranty on the compressor
- Twin Inverter Technology helps run both the fan motor and compressor at Inverter causing fewer fluctuations and more energy savings by automatically adjusting the cooling supply in regards to the cooling demand. Adding on to it also gives 10 Years warranty on compressor.
Haier 237 L, 2 Star, 8 In 1 Convertible, Frost Free Double Door Bottom Mount Refrigerator (HEB-242GS-P, Moon Silver, 2024 Model)
- Frost Free Refrigerator: Premium Auto Defrost with powerful cooling and long lasting freshness and performance. Manage your flexible storage needs with Convertible 8in1 technology : |Normal Mode|Veg Mode|Vacation Mode|Surprise Party Mode|Summer Mode|Turbo Mode|Home Alone Mode|Freezer Mode
- Capacity 237 Litres: Suitable for families with 3 to 4 members | Freezer capacity: 66 Ltr , Fresh food capacity: 171 Ltr
- Energy Rating: 2 Stars - Energy Efficiency
- Manufacturer Warranty : The product comes with a 1 year comprehensive warranty on Product and a 10 years warranty on the compressor
- Compressor with Cooling technology – Compressor provides greater energy efficiency, less noise and long-lasting performance, backed up by 10 years warranty
Whirlpool 270 L (Gross Capacity 300L) Frost Free Triple-Door Refrigerator (FP 313D PROTTON ROY ALPHA STEEL (Z)
- Frost Free Multi-Door Refrigerator: Energy Efficient
- Capacity: 270 litres suitable for a medium sized family
- Storage & Interior Description : | Cooling Type ; Frost Free | Display Type ; Thermostat | Shelf Material ; Toughened Glass | Compressor Type ; Reciprocatory
- Energery Efficent : As unbelievable as it is, the all new Protton world series consumes lesser energy than a CFL*, making it one of the most energy efficient refrigerator in its class. *T&C Apply. As compared to a 60 watt CFL
- Special Feature - Stabilizer-free operations even in high voltage fluctuations between (160-300V)
Samsung 550 L, Convertible, Digital Inverter, Frost Free French Door Refrigerator (RF57A5032S9/TL, Silver, Refined Inox, 2024 Model)
- French Door Frost free Refrigerators: Premium with auto-defrost function and bottom freezer easy access to food and drinks
- Capacity 550 liters: Suitable for families with 5 or more members
- Twin Cooling Plus : Ensures food stays fresh and moist longer. Prevents odor from mixing between compartments
- Manufacturer Warranty : The product comes with a 1 year comprehensive warranty and a 20 years warranty on the digital inverter compressor
- Interior Description : Fresh Food Capacity : 364 Ltr | Freezer Capacity : 186 Ltr | Total no. of compartments : 3 | Drawers : 2 | Shelves : 3 | Vegetable Drawers : 2 | Shelf Type : Toughened Glass Shelves | Anti Bacterial Gasket |
Whirlpool 235 L 2 Star Frost Free Double Door Refrigerator (NEO DF278 PRM RADIANT STEEL(2S)-TL, 2024 Fridge Model)
- The star rating changes are as per BEE guidelines on 1st Jan 2023
- Frost Free Double Door Refrigerator : Intellisense Inverter Technology
- Capacity: 235 L suitable for medium-sized family
- Energy Rating : 2s with Toughened Glass
- Brand Features : Knob Inside Refrigerator, Get Ice In Up 85 Minutes, 40% Faster Bottle Cooling, Anti-Odour Action, Coldest Freezer As -24C, 99.9% Bacterial Growth Prevention, Inverter
Whirlpool 300 L Frost Free Triple-Door Refrigerator(FP 343D Protton Roy, Alpha Steel)
- Frost Free Multi-Door Refrigerator: Energy Efficient
- Capacity: 300 litres suitable for a medium sized family
- Energery Efficent : As unbelievable as it is, the all new Protton world series consumes lesser energy than a CFL*, making it one of the most energy efficient refrigerator in its class. *T&C Apply. As compared to a 60 watt CFL
- Special Feature - Stabilizer-free operations even in high voltage fluctuations between (160-300V)
- Warranty : 1 year on product, 10 years on compressor
Haier 596 L, 3 Star, 100% Convertible Fridge Space, Expert Inverter, Frost Free Side by Side Refrigerator, (HES-690SS-P, Shiny Silver)
- Side By Side Frost-Free Refrigerators: With 100% Convertible fridge space and regulate temperature settings ranging from -24°C to 5°C.
- Capacity 596 Litres: Suitable for families with 5 or more members | Freezer capacity: 204 Ltr , Fresh food capacity: 392 Ltr
- Energy Rating : 3 Star Energy Efficiency
- Manufacturer Warranty : The product comes with a 1 year comprehensive warranty and a 10 years warranty on the inverter compressor
- Expert Inverter technology provides greater energy efficiency, less noise and long-lasting performance while consuming less power, backed up by 10 years warranty
Samsung 236 L, 3 Star, Convertible, Digital Inverter with Display Frost Free Double Door Refrigerator (RT28C3733B1/HL, Black Matt, 2024 Model)
- Frost Free Refrigerator: Auto Defrost with powerful cooling and long lasting freshness and performance. Manage your flexible storage needs with different convertible modes
- Capacity 236 liters: Suitable for families with 2 to 3 members
- Energy Rating : 3 Star Energy Efficiency
- Manufacturer Warranty : The product comes with a 1 year comprehensive warranty and a 20 years warranty on the digital inverter compressor
- Digital Inverter Compressor provides greater energy efficiency, less noise and long-lasting performance while consuming 50% less power, backed up by 20 year warranty
Hope this helps in your refrigerator buying process.