How to Choose a Freezer for Your Home

Page 1 | Page 2

OPTIONS REQUIRED

Since most freezers are relegated to the basement they are not an appliance that needs to look pretty. Neither do most consumers feel a necessity for them to have many options. Most are simply regarded as large storage boxes where frozen foods are kept for later usage.

Recently though manufacturers they have been offering a few more options. Things such as frost free, built in alarms, digital temperature displays, push button controls, and quick freeze are now on the market. All options on a freezer can serve a purpose but must be offset with the possibility of increased complexity. The more complex a device the more possibility of it breaking down. Plus, along with complexity usually comes increased cost.

One of the more unusual things you will see comes from Haier America. It is a chest style freezer with a pull out drawer at the bottom. The upper half is a basic chest freezer for long term storage. The lower half allows quick access via a drawer that slides out. The idea is that the drawer section is for items that need to be frozen – but will be used within a few days.

Summing Up

Food preferences have changed significantly in the last decade. We are eating less beef and more poultry and vegetables. Consequently, consumers now store less than 50 pounds of beef at any time.

Twenty years ago freezers sold would average fifteen to twenty cubic feet. Today the most popular size for a freezer is seven to twelve cubic feet. Again a reflection upon the fact that more people are consuming fresh foods rather than frozen.

• Household freezers come in either a chest style or an upright style.

• If you are looking for convenience, then the upright freezer is for you. Obviously, its design allows you to get to the food easily. Simply reaching into an upright requires less flexibility than leaning into a chest freezer.

• Chest freezers tend to be more efficient to operate and consume less electricity.

• Chest freezers are usually manual and will need to be defrosted once per year. Many upright freezers though are self-defrosting.

• If you expect to use the freezer for long-term storage a chest is better because they operate at a lower temperature than an upright.

So it is time to finally make that choice of what to buy. Hopefully, some of the ideas above will help you make an informed decision. Remember to take a close look at the Energyguide before purchasing. It offers a lot of information to help with an informed decision.

Page 1 | Page 2

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Donald Grummett has been in the trade over 30 years as a technician, business owner, and technical trainer. For more information about appliances including Frequently Asked Questions, Stain guide, Newsletter, and Recycling visit www.mgservices.ca Copyright 2005 by Donald Grummett. All right reserved.

http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Choose-a-Freezer-for-Home&id=18995

This document last modified Wednesday, 09-Jul-2008 09:19:02 EDT

Tidbits & Stuff was born on Thursday, March 9, 2006
© 2006, 2007, 2008 Felicia A. Williams

Contact Us | Writing Guidelines| Privacy Policy