We spend loads of money, time and effort to make up our home. Buying refrigerator, wine chiller or any other appliance is not an expense; it is a long term investment and so real thought must be given before ending up with a purchase. Whether it is refrigerator or wine chiller, this is a need based buy, but following certain guidelines ensures you’ve listed your needs well.
Refrigerator Buying Guide:
1) Measure: Whether you are planning to buy a new refrigerator or are replacing the old one, it is of utmost importance that you measure the space you have for the appliance. Under counter, in a niche or just anywhere you wish to place the refrigerator, the space should be enough to not only accommodate the appliance, but also allow free movement, easy installation and clearance for airflow.
2) Features: Make notes of what features you need the refrigerator to have – an all refrigerator, one with freezer attached, one with freezer on top or bottom, adjustable shelves, adjustable temperature control, additional features like water dispensers, extravagant features like attached LCD on the fridge door. The way you use the refrigerator will largely give you pointers on which features to choose and which to eliminate. For example, if you have a larger family which and normally cook in advance and store food, having adjustable shelves which accommodate bigger containers and lot of smaller ones, is one feature you can look for.
3) Capacity: The size and lifestyle of your family will largely decide the capacity. But it will be worth buying a refrigerator of slightly shorter capacity than required rather than a bigger one, as increase in capacity means increase in energy consumption.
4) Check Energy ratings: The stars that your refrigerator has, are not given away for nothing, they represent the energy efficiency of the refrigerator, the more the merrier.
5) After sales service and maintenance: Reputed brands often give superb after sales service and also have a lot of dealers around the neighborhood, making it easy to locate mechanics.
The color, finish and features must be considered and how much maintenance it will ask for, a white color asks to be kept spotless all time around…so keep that in mind. Nowadays looking for the right refrigerator for your kitchen is as tricky as buying a house.
Wine Chiller Buying Guide:
1) Capacity: The sole purpose of a wine chiller is to serve good wine every time the cork is opened. When buying a wine chiller, consider what kind of wine you buy. Compared to white wines, certain red wines are designed for aging. The way your collection will increase over time, the space you have to keep the wine chiller and of course the price you are ready to shell for the chiller will all give you hints on the optimum capacity you require.
2) Features: Important features like separate compartments to maintain uniformity of temperature, shelving which keeps the bottles safely in place while stylishly displaying them, digital controls to keep temperature in check without opening doors, tinted doors to keep away harmful UV rays, locks to keep your prized possession safe from prying eyes and more…choose your pick!
3) Check the noise: A noisy wine chiller can be disturbing, so compare brands and choose the one with the least level of noise.
4) Check the energy efficiency: Although wine chillers do not normally have star energy ratings, comparing different brands for this feature is cost effective in the long run.
5) Budget: Consider buying an expensive wine chiller as it might be a better decision than buying a cheaper one and replacing it often due to lack of space and inefficiency.
Buy wisely so that you can enjoy your refrigerator, wine chiller for years to come.
Harvey Norman Singapore offers the best prices for a wide range of single-door, 2-door, 3-door and side-by-side refrigerators from brands like LG, Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Samsung, Panasonic and Bosch. They also offer home wine chiller and cellar solutions to cool, store and preserve your fine wine collection.
