Getting Started

Manufacturers are hot for your dollar as they load their refrigerators with features and fashion. Most, for example, now offer French-door models with side-by-side refrigerator doors above the freezer. And you'll find slide-out glass shelves and temperature-controlled compartments, along with stainless-steel exteriors, in more and more refrigerators selling for less than $1,000. This refrigerator guide will help you with your purchase.

Refrigerators made after the end of April 2008 must be 5 percent more efficient to qualify for an Energy Star emblem. But despite advances, refrigerators still use more electricity than any other kitchen appliance because they're always on. The familiar yellow EnergyGuide labels and Energy Star symbols are a useful guide, but our energy-efficiency ratings take usable volume into account and are more helpful, particularly when comparing across different refrigerator categories.

Types

Before you buy a new refrigerator, learn about the different types of refrigerators on the market. While one type of refrigerator might have features that appeal to you, it might not fit your budget or your lifestyle.

These are the traditional type, dating back to the earliest refrigerators. Widths typically run from about 30 to 33 inches. Manufacturers claim up to 22-cubic-foot capacities, but usable capacity is typically 20 percent lower by our measurements.

They typically offer the most storage for their size. Fairly wide refrigerator shelves make it easy to reach the back. They also cost the least as a group, yet they offer stainless trim on more models for a more stylish look.

You have to bend to reach bottom shelves and drawers.

Sales of bottom-freezers are growing fastest. Widths run from 30 to 36 inches. Claimed capacities go up to 26 cubic feet, though usable space doesn't quite match that of comparable top-freezers.

Bottom-freezers offer the convenience of an eye-level refrigerator. French-door models offer the space-saving narrow door swing of a side-by-side and the option of opening only half the refrigerator for smaller items.

You have to bend to reach the freezer-but you'll typically use the refrigerator much more often. French-door models cost significantly more and are more difficult to find in narrower widths. It can be difficult to find a bottom-freezer model with in-door ice and water.

A vertical, full-length split places the freezer on one side and refrigerator on the other. Side-by-sides typically come with through-the-door ice and water dispensers, temperature-controlled bins, and rapid ice-making cycles. Width typically measures 32 to 36 inches. Claimed capacities are up to 30 cubic feet, but only about 65 to 70 percent is usable.

The narrow doors are a plus in a tight kitchen.

Most doors don't open wide enough for a pizza box or other wide items, and tall, narrow compartments make items toward the back difficult to find.

These pricey models are designed to fit almost flush with cabinets and counters. Built-ins typically come in bottom-freezer and side-by-side styles. You can even buy a separate refrigerator and freezer and build them into a 72-inch-wide opening. Claimed capacities go up to 26 cubic feet, but only about 70 percent of that is usable.

These offer the sleekest look. And most can accept optional front panels that match other elements of your kitchen.

Built-in refrigerators are the least space efficient overall. They're wide (36 inches or more) but relatively shallow-25 or 26 inches front to back. They've also been repair-prone as a group.

You get the look of a built-in for less money with these somewhat shallow freestanding refrigerators. Most come as side-by-sides, but top- and bottom-freezers and French-door models are available. Claimed capacities reach up to 21 cubic feet, but far less than that is usable.

These stick out only a bit farther than built-in models. Many accept extra-cost panels for a custom look.

Cabinet-depth models have less usable space than the deeper freestanding models and cost more.

These are among the latest luxuries for kitchens where even the biggest refrigerator simply isn't enough.

They can mount under a countertop or within a kitchen island for storing drinks and other specialized items. They do not cost much to run, but that's because of their limited capacity.

Refrigerator drawers tend to be large on price and small on space. Although they cost little to run, refrigerator drawers provide poor energy efficiency.

Features

The most important features increase versatility. Some frills add unnecessary complexity and reduce reliability. Here are refrigerator features to consider.

You can move these to create room to fit tall items.

These crank up and down without you having to remove the contents

As their name implies, these drawers provide you with greater access to stored items.

As the kitchen becomes the new living room, more manufacturers are hawking $3,000-plus refrigerators that incorporate high-tech equipment such as TVs, digital-picture or music devices, and family-organizing centers. You can save hundreds if not thousands and get better performance by buying such equipment separately.

These improve access to items stored. An alternative to pullout shelves or bins in the freezer is a bottom-freezer with a sliding drawer.

These allow you to adjust shelves to different heights independently.

These sliding brackets on door shelves secure bottles and jars. A few models have a wine rack that stores a bottle horizontally.

You can set them several degrees cooler than the rest of the refrigerator. You might want to keep meat, fish, and cold cuts at lower temperatures. Some drawers can chill or thaw their contents quickly.

This is the feature most requested by buyers. It's included in some French-door models and most side-by-sides. It's a minor convenience with a major drawback. Our surveys confirm that, as a group, refrigerators with water and ice dispensers still require considerably more repairs than those without dispensers.

A water filter is designed to reduce lead, chlorine, and other impurities. You can also add a filter to the refrigerator's water-supply line.