Fridge Freezer Features Explained

When you’re shopping for your new fridge freezer you want to make sure you get the best deal. They don’t exactly come cheap as there’s no do-overs. Once you’ve bought a fridge freezer you’re going to be using it for a long time. Because of that, you need to be informed and have as much knowledge as you can going into this decision. 

That’s why we share our knowledge in these helpful guides. We know a thing or two about appliances, what our customers are looking for and what they enjoy about their purchases. 

In this guide, we’re going to be talking about popular fridge freezer features, what they are and why they’re beneficial. Your current fridge freezer may be a dated model, so you’re probably not aware of the new features fridge freezers have.

No one would blame you for not being in the know on contemporary fridge freezers features, that would be quite a niche hobby. But it’s our job to know, so we’re going to share our expertise with you. Certain features directly affect the price of the unit, so it helps to know which ones are worth paying for.

What Does Frost Free Mean?

Automatic defrosting is definitely worth paying for. Defrosting your freezer is a task that everyone needs to do, but mostly doesn’t. Letting frost build up affects the efficiency of the unit and its energy usage. If your drawers get frozen in too, then it’s very easy to damage or break them trying to get them out. 

We’ve written a guide on how to defrost a freezer here.

Holiday Mode – What is this Setting?

A new feature in fridge freezers, holiday mode is a massive help and in the lifespan of a fridge freezer will help you save some money. Holiday mode basically keeps the fridge freezer operational but at a much lower power usage. Normally, the freezer portion is kept as normal if you do want to keep some frozen food in here whilst you’re away whilst your fridge will be next to off. 

What Do the Anti-Bacterial Seals Do?

Lots of new fridge freezers have an antibacterial layer on their door seals which helps to reduce the growth of mould, bacteria and more. These are a small feature but do a lot for food hygiene. 

What Does Multi Temperature Zones Mean?

A feature of most fridges and fridge freezers these days, varying temperature zones help you get the most out of your food. The classics are salad crisper drawers which have been a feature of fridges for a long time, but there’s more variety than that now. Different brands have their own patented multi-temperature technology but these are a good feature for those that take their food seriously. 

The variety allows you to store certain foods as they’re supposed to be which other fridges and fridge freezers don’t afford you. For many people, they won’t be fussed about this, but for keen chefs and serious foodies this feature can be well sought after.

Water & Ice Dispensers

This is not exactly a new feature on fridge freezers, but a very common one. The names are pretty self-explanatory but if you’ve never had a fridge freezer with water or ice dispenser before, there are a couple things worth knowing about them. 

You can get a fridge freezer with a water dispenser, an ice dispenser and both a water and ice dispenser. These don’t have to be plumbed in either. Some will require plumbing in but this should be made clear before you buy. Check thoroughly just to be sure. Others will have their own tank within that you can fill up as and when you require.

What Does Fast Freeze Mean?

Another self-explanatory one, the fast freeze feature blasts your food bringing them down to frozen temperature quicker than usual. This is particularly useful if you’ve just done a big weekly shop.

If you’re going to put a lot of food into your freezer that’s at room temperature, your freezer will use more energy than normal bringing it down to its set temperature. The fast freeze feature will do it quicker, using less energy and keeping your food fresher in the process. 

Special Features

There are two fridge freezers in particular on our website that incorporate two new features that could change the way fridge freezers are made forever. 

Samsung’s Family Hub feature is an integrated tablet which you can use to keep stock of what’s in the fridge, keep a family calendar, watch TV, play music and more. This is a huge innovation for the refrigeration industry and one that’s hard to ignore, or resist. At 21.5” it’s a fairly substantial multimedia screen and will bring your home and kitchen well into the 21st Century.

LG’s Instaview feature saves you time and money. It’s a door within a door and has benefits beyond general convenience. First, obviously being able to see within the fridge without opening it is handy, and by putting all your favourite stuff in there, it’s easier to find. But this also helps to regulate the temperature of your fridge and keep your food fresher for longer. By putting your most used items in the door within the door, you don’t open the whole fridge every time you go to use it. Every time you open the fridge door warm air gets inside which disrupts the temperature. LG’s new feature puts an end to that. 

With innovation like this, we’re excited to see what will become of the fridge freezer and how much more technologically advanced they can get. These are the features that you need to know about that can generally be found across almost any brand.

This isn’t a definitive list of all fridge freezer features, just the ones that crop up the most and the ones we often face questions about. It’s up to you to decide if they’re worth paying for. They really can help you out in your day to day life, but do make sure you read the product descriptions closely to see if there’s any features not mentioned here. 

For our American-Style fridge freezers, head to our Refrigeration section. With savings to be made within our Cooking, Extraction, Laundry ranges and more, save money if you buy online today at Appliance City!