Best Single Door Refrigerator

The family of refrigerators is vast and, contrary to popular belief, it is evolving. This is evidenced by the recent arrival on the market of multi-door refrigerators , which have been very successful because of their ease of use. Your choice will depend on the configuration of your kitchen - in particular its size - but also on your needs: do you consume a lot of frozen products, in which case a simple freezer will not be enough?  

Combined fridges

It is, by far, the best-selling format in France. Because a combined fridge saves space by combining two appliances in one. The capacity of the refrigeration part of a combination can vary, depending on the model, from 150 to 250 l, or even more for multi-doors. That of the freezing part is around 60 to 80 l. The refrigeration / freezing ratio is generally 70/30 in favor of refrigeration.

Double door or top fridges

Like the combined, these are mixed refrigerators with two doors, but the freezer part is this time at the top. This difference is not only aesthetic, because in this configuration, the freezing part is in lower proportion than on a combined: the ratio is 80/20 or 75/25 in favor of the refrigeration part. The tops are therefore to be preferred only if you have few products to freeze. These devices are much less common.

Single-door or one-door refrigerators

These are the most classic fridges. They simply have a refrigeration space, sometimes with a small freezer compartment located inside, also called a freezer, with 2 or 4 stars. This is the freezing performance. A 2 star does not allow you to keep frozen food for more than a month. A 4 star rating keeps food below -18 ° C for a long time. Simple doors are therefore aimed at consumers who are mainly fans of fresh products, or who have an independent freezer. For best single door refrigerator buying guide, read the full post here.

American fridges

The main asset of  American refrigerators is their size, with an average volume 30% higher than a handset. But beware, they are therefore only suitable for large kitchens: their depth is more or less standard (75 to 80 cm), but they are very wide: allow 1 m, against 70 cm for a classic fridge. They have two compartments side by side, one for freezing and one for refrigeration. They can also be used as a dispenser for ice cubes, crushed ice and cold water. Please note, this format often requires a direct connection to the water to take advantage of these additional features.

Multi-door refrigerators

These 3- or 4-door refrigerators may be bulkier than American refrigerators, but that's not always the case. Again, allow enough space, as they can reach 1 m wide. The main difference between multi-doors and Americans? Where the Americans put the refrigeration and freezing parts side by side, they are located one above the other in the multi-door. As such, they are closer to combined fridges, compared to which they offer 40% more volume. With a freezer compartment with 1 or 2 drawers at the bottom and a refrigerator compartment with 2 doors at the top, they are suitable for large families.

Table top fridges

Mainly intended for small kitchens, they are equipped with a door at the height of a worktop (85 cm), hence their name table top, which in English means the top of a table. They can often slip under the worktop or next to it: in this case, it is possible to put kitchen utensils, such as a microwave oven (but not a conventional oven, which gives off heat). Like simple doors, they can have a freezer.

Manufacturers are putting more and more effort into the design of their products. Stainless steel with anti-fingerprint treatment, vintage look, various colors: buyers wishing to choose a freestanding fridge are spoiled for choice. As their name suggests, these fridges can be installed without work. Please note, free-standing appliances must have a minimum of 5 cm on each side and at the back so that the heat extracted can circulate. There should also be a space of 10 cm between the top of the refrigerator and the ceiling or furniture above.

Built-in or integrated fridges are designed to fit in a specific cabinet in the kitchen. A plate provided by your kitchen designer is attached to the appliance door so that it blends in completely with your kitchen décor. Attention, the box must reserve a space of 5 cm on the sides and a minimum of 5 cm behind so that the heat produced by the condenser can be evacuated.

In either case, make sure the refrigerator door can open enough so that the crisper bins and shelves can be pulled out without problem. In fact, on some models, the doors must be opened more than 90 ° to extract one of the compartments. This can be a problem if the fridge is placed between two pieces of furniture or at a corner against a wall. When a model suffers from this slight design flaw, we report it in the results of our refrigerator benchmarking tests .

How to choose suitable volume?

The fridge must be chosen according to its volume, which we will try to adapt to the needs of the home. As the refrigerator operates continuously, it is better to avoid it being half empty! On average, a useful volume of 100 to 150 liters for a single person and 50 liters for each additional person is recommended. A household of more than 3 people will therefore opt for a fridge of at least 300 liters.

We could summarize as follows:

• a table top is suitable for 1 single person cooking little or lacking space;
• a classic single door fridge will suit 1 single person cooking normally or 1 couple without children;
• a handset / top will be necessary for 1 family. American refrigerators or multi-door refrigerators, because of their very large size, are only suitable for large kitchens and families, as the risk of them remaining half empty is great.