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- Glossary
Glossary
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All of our appliances are Brand New and come with the manufacturers full guarantee
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Guarantee / Warranty
All of our appliances come with the manufacturers standard guarantee / warranty. (see individual manufacturers website for terms & conditions)
All of our appliances come with the manufacturers standard guarantee / warranty. (see individual manufacturers website for terms & conditions)
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What you should know before buying an appliance
Fridge Freezers:
Energy ratings
After central heating, refrigeration appliances are the biggest domestic users of energy, because they're on all the time.
New models of fridge-freezer are now labelled A++, A+, A, B or C, based on their energy consumption. An A++ rating indicates the most efficient category, C the least. If your last fridge-freezer was bought before September 1999, it could be anything up to a G rating, with no limit on how much energy it uses.
Energy labels aren't always accurate, they are produced by the manufacturers themselves
Frost-free
Frost-free models tend to be a bit more expensive to buy and run, but they do make life easier. If you buy a frost-free freezer, don't over-pack it. Air needs to circulate to keep the frost at bay.
Also, watch out for food with a high fat content, such as ice cream and some meat. It can deteriorate with long-term storage in a frost-free freezer. This is because of the thawing and freezing that happens during the defrost cycle.
Finally, if food isn't carefully wrapped, it can become drier than it would in a conventional freezer.
Capacity
Generally, the bigger a fridge-freezer is outside, the bigger it is inside. But that isn't always true: some models have more space inside than others of similar dimensions.
Capacities claimed by manufacturers can be misleading, so don't trust them to help you choose the right fridge-freezer. On conventional models, Which magazine found differences between the actual and claimed capacities of up to 25 litres for fridge compartments and 35 litres for freezer compartments.
On American-style models, Which magazine found that the differences are even bigger. Which say the worst offender is the Bosch KGU 66920/ 14 where the useable space is a ridiculous 189 litres – 333 pints of milk – lower than the manufacturer's claimed capacity.
Super-cooling
Many fridge-freezers have a 'super-cool' setting, which cools the fridge compartment continuously for a set period of time, usually about six hours.
You can turn it on when you put a lot of food into your fridge at once. Usually, big loads take longer to cool but the super-cool setting deals with them more quickly.
Fast-freeze
This is particularly handy if you're freezing fresh food. By freezing more quickly, a fast-freeze setting lets the food retain more of its nutrients. And for many types of food – bread, for example – it stops the texture from changing too much.
If your fridge-freezer doesn't have a fast-freeze switch, you can just turn down the thermostat for a while. Remember to turn it up again, though, or you'll be wasting a lot of energy.
Thermostats
Some fridge-freezers have a single thermostat for both the fridge and the freezer; others have a separate thermostat for each. One-control models tend to be cheaper. However, there is a risk that, when you set the right temperature for the fridge (3°C to 5°C), the freezer's too warm or too cold.
Some dual-control models give you the option of switching off the fridge but leaving the freezer on. This is handy if you're going on holiday, for example. Similarly, you can leave the fridge on while the freezer is defrosting.
Freezer star ratings
The star-rating system for freezers tells you what it can freeze and for how long.
****: -18°C or colder. Freeze fresh food, and store food for three to 12 months
***: -18°C. Store pre-frozen food for three to 12 months
**: -12°C. Store pre-frozen food for up to a month
*: -6°C . Store pre-frozen food for up to a week
Climate class
Every fridge-freezer has a 'climate class', which tells you the range of room temperatures with which it can cope. The two you're most likely to come across in the UK are N class and SN class. Both work effectively in room temperatures up to 32°C.
N models shouldn't be used in rooms that become colder than 16°C. SN models shouldn't be used at room temperatures below 10°C.
Other classes that you might come across are ST and T. ST models work best at between 18°C and 38°C, and T models between 18°C and 43°C.
Ice makers
Most American-style models include an ice dispenser. These provide cubes, crushed ice and chilled water on demand (if you plumb them into the mains). An ice maker takes up quite a lot of space in the freezer, unless it’s well designed.
Holiday button
This is for when you're away from home for a few days or weeks. Press the button and, while you're away, the fridge will switch off and the freezer compartment set to the lowest (coldest) temperature.
On some models this lowers the energy used when you're not there and saves money. The only catch is you'll need to empty the fridge first or you'll spoil all the food.
Colours
For a little extra money, you can get many models in different finishes such as stainless steel, brushed chrome, aluminium, matt silver and black. Check out the colour you're looking for in person, because some finishes can look a bit plasticky when you see them close up.
Water filters
Most side-by-side fridge-freezers have a dispenser that provides chilled water, ice cubes and crushed ice if you plumb them into the mains. Dispensers include water filters to reduce the build up of scale within the internal pipes. These filters need to be changed at regular intervals.
Replacement filters are widely available from manufacturers or online stockists. They usually cost between £30 and £80 depending on the fridge-freezer.
Design details
There are several design details that make a fridge-freezer more convenient to use.
Rollers or castors
These make the fridge-freezer easier to move – if you want to clean behind it, for example.
Shelf design
Most fridge-freezers have adjustable shelves, so you can have a combination of deep and shallow spaces to fit different types of food and drink containers.
It's a good idea to look for fridge-freezers with solid shelves rather than wire ones. They're easier to keep clean, and prevent food on higher shelves dripping on to food below.
Bottle grip
This lets you store taller bottles without a risk of them falling over.
Wine and bottle racks
Many larger fridge-freezers come with a removable wine rack for storing a few bottles horizontally in the back of the fridge. In some, there's even a holder in the fridge for larger Champagne-type bottles.
Chill compartment
This is a fridge compartment that's colder than the rest of the fridge (around 0°C). It's good for storing meat, fish and poultry.
Humidity controlled compartment
This allows you to manually control humidity in a compartment in the fridge. Increasing the humidity can help prolong the life of fruit and vegetables and prevent drying out and shrivelling; lowering the humidity can increase the life of meat, fish and dairy foods.
Only a handful of models have this feature though. Most of them have two compartments, for separate humidity settings.
High-temperature warning
This lets you know if food isn't cold enough, saving food that would otherwise go off.
Electronic control panel
Many fridge-freezers have electronic/digital controls. These are a more convenient way of setting the fridge and freezer temperatures, and managing features such as the auto ice maker.
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INFO ABOUT HOBS:
SizeMost hobs are 60cm or 70cms wide, some 70cm hobs will still fit into a 60cm gap.
They're designed to overlap onto the work surface but can also be recessed into the worktop.
Safety/child locks
Electric hobs should have safety locks to stop the controls from being operated by inquisitive children.
Dual zone
On electric hobs, a dual zone allows you to operate an inner zone within the main ring so you can save energy when cooking with smaller pans.
Induction
Imagine that you simply must have the stylish good looks of a ceramic hob, but you love the precise controllability and instant response that you get when cooking with gas. The solution is easy - you choose an induction hob
Induction hobs heat the pan only. You can touch the adjacent surface without burning yourself.
Induction hobs are a quick, safe and efficient method of cooking.
Rather than the cooking surface heating up, a magnetic field is created between the pan and an element underneath the glass top.
Because the pan rather than the cooking surface heats up induction hobs are quicker than other types of hob and are cheaper to run because only the precise amount of energy you need is ever used.
However, they're much more expensive to buy.
You'll also need special pans that contain iron.
Because of the powerful electromagnetic field, induction may not be suitable if you have a pacemaker fitted.
De Dietrich and Whirpool both warn that their induction hobs can be noisy when using more than one cooking zone.
Gas on glass
These models have gas burners mounted on top of ceramic glass so they look more stylish than other gas hobs.
They don't heat up as quickly as electric ceramic models but they're more precise and easier to control.
Unlike standard gas hobs, the flat ceramic surface is easy to clean, though you still have to remove the pan supports.
Timer
Many induction hobs have a timer which can be used to program zones so they switch off automatically when you want them to stop cooking.
Woks
Oriental stir-fry cooking is popular, and lots of gas hobs now feature a high-powered wok burner perfect for this type of cooking.
This could be a larger fourth burner or an extra burner in the middle of the hob that provides an intense, rapid heat.
Wok burners heat up more quickly than standard gas burners and are easy to control.
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