As of: January 23, 2024, 3:51 p.m
By: Patrick Hauser
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With the right fridge-freezer combination, electricity costs can be significantly reduced.
We introduce you to the test winners from Stiftung Warentest.
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Refrigerators operate around the clock and therefore drive up electricity consumption significantly.
On average, around 10 to 20 percent of the total electricity bill goes to the refrigerator.
But you can save a lot of money: According to MediaMarkt, in 1990 a fridge-freezer combination with a volume of 200 liters used an average of 410 kilowatt hours per year; today that is just 170 kilowatt hours.
Stiftung Warentest therefore recommends thinking about replacing the device and purchasing a new one after ten years.
To achieve this, the consumer organization intensively tested a total of 299 models.
We will explain to you what advantages a modern refrigerator offers and introduce you to the test winners*.
At a glance
What is the most economical fridge-freezer combination?
Which is the best fridge-freezer?
What does a good refrigerator need?
How big should the refrigerator be?
How to save electricity when cooling
Conclusion: What do you have to consider when buying a refrigerator?
What is the most economical fridge-freezer combination?
Since the energy efficiency classes were changed a few years ago, refrigerators have been classified with the designation A to G (instead of the previous A+++ to D).
A is the most economical class, while class G refrigerators consume the most electricity.
Since new refrigerators are often relatively expensive and sometimes cost over 1,000 euros, when purchasing a new one it is only worth purchasing a device that is as economical as possible with energy classes A to C. This will save you several hundred euros per year just because of the large difference in kilowatt hours used.
The purchase costs for the new device can therefore be exceeded after just a few years.
Particularly economical: The test winner from Samsung (overall grade: 1.4)
Samsung RL38A776ASR/EG © Samsung
Samsung RL38A776ASR/EG fridge-freezer combination: Outstanding in the areas of cooling (grade 1.4), freezing (0.6), noise (1.3) and temperature stability (1.0).
Energy efficiency class |
A |
|---|---|
Electricity consumption per year |
108 kWh |
Noise emission class |
b |
Usable content |
387 liters (114 l freezing + 273 l cooling) |
Highlights |
NoFrost, fresh drawer, 2 separate cooling circuits |
Storage time in case of disruption |
9 hours |
Only €1,249 instead of €2,049
Which is the best fridge-freezer?
Stiftung Warentest tested a total of 299 devices, the results ranged from very good to poor.
27 devices received the grade “very good”.
Striking: Both the popular side-by-side refrigerators with two hinged doors and many modern functions as well as built-in refrigerator-freezer combinations missed the best mark and therefore do not end up in the top places.
In addition to the Samsung model, a fridge-freezer combination from Bosch also received a grade of 1.4 and was also named the test winner.
The best: Test winner from Bosch (overall grade 1.4)
Bosch KGN39AIAT © Bosch
Bosch KGN39AIAT fridge-freezer combination: Outstanding in the areas of freezing (grade 1.3), temperature stability (0.7), energy efficiency (1.0) and noise (1.0).
Energy efficiency class |
A |
|---|---|
Electricity consumption per year |
104 kWh |
Noise emission class |
A |
Usable content |
363 liters (103 l freezing + 260 l cooling) |
Highlights |
Twin NoFrost, super cooling and freezing, multiAirflow system |
Storage time in case of disruption |
21 hours |
Only €1,119 instead of €2,609.00
The sister model Bosch KGN39AIBT
was rated only slightly worse
.
It has a rating of B instead of A in the noise emission and energy efficiency classes, but is otherwise identical to the test winner.
Stiftung Warentest gave it an excellent grade of 1.5.
Compared to the Bosch test winner, the model is significantly cheaper: you can currently get the KGN39AIBT for just €979.
Only €979 instead of €1,729.00
What does a good refrigerator need?
A refrigerator has long been able to do more than just cool food.
Regardless of whether you want to look at the inside by knocking on the refrigerator door or take a look at your supplies on the go using the camera and app - the possibilities are endless.
There are even refrigerators where the day's appointments can be digitally transferred to the refrigerator door using a calendar app.
However, the technical bells and whistles also consume a lot of energy and are the main reason why no side-by-side refrigerator has yet received energy efficiency class A or B.
The following is therefore about what functions a modern and energy-saving refrigerator should have:
No Frost:
The automatic defrost ensures that you never have to defrost your refrigerator again and that no ice or frost forms inside.
Ice crusts hinder the cooling cycle and increase electricity consumption.
Low Frost:
In contrast to No Frost, ice formation cannot be completely prevented with these models.
You should defrost the device every now and then, but much less frequently than with old refrigerators.
Rapid cooling:
The Supercool function cools the inside of the refrigerator particularly quickly.
At the touch of a button, you can increase the cooling performance for a specific time and, for example, cool drinks just before a party.
Quick freezing:
Similar to quick cooling, the Superfreeze function also works with a briefly increased cooling capacity, but this time in the freezer compartment.
For example, you can freeze larger quantities of food particularly quickly.
Vegetable compartment:
This special cooling compartment maintains a slightly higher temperature than the other compartments in the refrigerator compartment so that stored fruit and vegetables last as long as possible and preserve their vitamins.
Cold storage compartment:
Perishable foods are kept particularly well in this special compartment because the temperature is around freezing point and therefore lower than in the other refrigerator compartments.
Order:
Basically, the fridge-freezer combination should be equipped with bright LED lights and pull-out glass shelves.
This means you always have everything in view and even foods that are further away are quickly at hand.
The “Snurrad” is suitable for creating more order in the refrigerator: this Ikea turntable for the refrigerator was sold out for months due to extreme demand.
We introduce you to the trend product.
The best from LG: Very good fridge-freezer combination now cheaper (grade 1.5)
LG GBB92STBAP fridge-freezer combination © LG
LG GBB92STBAP fridge-freezer combination: Outstanding in the areas of freezing (grade 0.5), energy efficiency (0.9), temperature stability (1.0) and cooling (1.2).
Energy efficiency class |
A |
|---|---|
Electricity consumption per year |
110 kWh |
Noise emission class |
b |
Usable content |
384 liters (107 l freezing + 277 l cooling) |
Highlights |
NoFrost, Superfrost, cold storage and fresh-keeping compartment |
Storage time in case of disruption |
19 hours |
Only €1,219 instead of €1,999
How big should the refrigerator be?
Before you buy, think carefully about how much volume your new cooling device should have.
As a rule of thumb, you can remember that around 40 to 50 liters of refrigerator volume and around 10 liters are needed in the freezer compartment per person in the household.
A household with one or two people needs a maximum of 120 liters in total, and for three people or more it should be at least 150 liters.
Danger!
Unused areas in the refrigerator require more electricity than those with contents.
This is because food retains cold.
So when you open the refrigerator, the air from the unused areas flows out, while the used areas remain on the food.
This increases power consumption because the air that flows in has to be cooled down again.
However, if the refrigerator is too full, the cooling performance decreases.
The volume indicated on the energy label is the so-called useful or net volume.
It is significantly higher than the actual usage volume because it measures the contents without slots or shelves.
So if you are looking for a refrigerator for three people, you should not pay attention to the stated net volume of, for example, 150 liters, but rather add a little more.
Particularly affordable: price-performance winner from Samsung (grade 1.5)
Samsung RL38A7B5BS9 fridge-freezer combination © Samsung
Samsung RL38A7B5BS9 fridge-freezer combination: Outstanding in the areas of cooling (0.9), freezing (0.6), temperature stability (1.1) and energy efficiency (1.4).
Energy efficiency class |
b |
|---|---|
Electricity consumption per year |
134 kWh |
Noise emission class |
b |
Usable content |
387 liters (114 l freezing + 273 l cooling) |
Highlights |
NoFrost+, 2 cooling circuits, rapid cooling |
Storage time in case of disruption |
9 hours |
Only €879.99 instead of €1,599.00
How to save electricity when cooling
As cold as necessary:
If you are not storing perishable foods such as fresh meat or fish, you should set the refrigerator temperature to 6 °C.
That's completely enough; just one degree cooler causes electricity consumption to increase by an average of 6 percent.
Use the rapid cooling function sparingly:
If you want food or drinks to be as cold or frozen as possible in a short time, the refrigerator does the hard work.
Logically, this also increases power consumption.
Store food in a cool place:
If you leave purchased food in the kitchen for hours before loading it into the refrigerator, it will have a lot more work to cool down the warmed food.
Therefore, fill the refrigerator immediately after shopping and use cool boxes or cool bags.
Of course, even after eating, food shouldn't stay on the dining table for too long.
Allow hot dishes to cool down:
The freshly cooked roast or the rest of the warm meal should not go straight into the refrigerator.
First let the dishes cool to room temperature.
The greater the difference between the actual and target temperature of the food, the harder the refrigerator has to work and the higher the electricity consumption.
Set up in the right place:
The ideal location is on a cool outside wall, far away from heat sources such as stoves, radiators or the sun.
At a room temperature of 10 degrees, an economical refrigerator only uses a quarter of the energy as at a temperature of 25 degrees.
Defrost ice:
If your refrigerator does not have a no-frost function, you should defrost it at least once a year.
This prevents ice crusts and increases the efficiency of the cooling circuit.
This works best in winter: you can easily park the food outside in the cold while you defrost the refrigerator.
Only open the door briefly:
The longer the refrigerator door is open, the more cold air escapes and the higher the power consumption.
So close the door regularly when putting food in or out and think about what you want to eat and take out before opening it.
Keep ventilation slots clear:
Replace brittle seals and keep ventilation slots clear and clean to reduce heat build-up and save energy.
Side-by-side refrigerator: The test winner from Samsung (grade 1.7)
Samsung RS68A884CSL © Samsung
Samsung RS68A884CSL side-by-side refrigerator: Outstanding in cooling (score 0.8), freezing (1.1), temperature stability (0.9) and energy efficiency (1.4).
Energy efficiency class |
C |
|---|---|
Electricity consumption per year |
225 kWh |
Noise emission class |
b |
Usable content |
635 liters (226 l freezing + 409 l cooling) |
Highlights |
NoFrost, 2 separate cooling circuits, WiFi remote control |
Storage time in case of disruption |
7 hours |
€2,639 at MediaMarkt
Conclusion: What do you have to consider when buying a refrigerator?
Unfortunately, the highest quality of refrigerators comes with high prices; the test winners from Stiftung Warentest cost around 1,000 euros.
This makes it all the more important to find out beforehand which refrigerator is right for you.
Pay attention to a low energy efficiency class, the right internal volume and the necessary functions.
If you then follow our tips for saving electricity, your electricity bill will thank you.
Ideally, you can recoup the money you have spent within the next ten years through economical and efficient use.
Refrigerator: The test winner from Bauknecht (grade 1.5)
Bauknecht KR 17G4 WS 2 refrigerator © Bauknecht
Bauknecht KR 17G4 WS 2 refrigerator (without freezer compartment): Outstanding for cooling (grade 0.9), temperature stability (0.6) and energy efficiency (1.4)
Energy efficiency class |
E |
|---|---|
Electricity consumption per year |
113 kWh |
Noise emission class |
C |
Usable content |
319 liters (cooling only) |
Highlights |
Super cool, ProFresh, holiday saving mode |
Storage time in case of disruption |
24 hours |
Only €569 instead of €819
* You can read the complete test report from Stiftung Warentest here.
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