You’ve probably noticed how popular convertible refrigerators are, with all the big brands calling them the next big thing in the refrigerator market. So, what are convertible refrigerators? Are they any better than your standard refrigerator? Read on to find out as I go into detail and talk about how these refrigerators work.
What Are Convertible Refrigerators?
Essentially, convertible refrigerators are double door refrigerators that let the user change the cooling mode of each compartment. Either one of the compartments can be used as a refrigerator or a freezer.
Convertible refrigerators hadn’t quite made it to most Indian homes till now. Samsung was the first brand to manufacture such a refrigerator more than 2 years ago. However, most other brands have started to adopt the convertible mechanism and innovate on it, leading to its widespread popularity.
How Do Convertible Refrigerators Work?
You’re probably wondering how compartments can be changed so drastically, since standard refrigerator compartments are connected because of having only one fan and one evaporator.
Well, allow me to explain. Convertible fridges have a different arrangement- rather than having one fan and one evaporator, these fridges have two of both. They can control the temperatures of each compartment independently, so one compartment’s cooling mechanism can be used in the other without any issues.
What Are The Benefits Of Convertible Refrigerators?
The biggest benefit of having a convertible refrigerator is flexible space for multiple purposes. Need more space to keep raw meat? Just turn the refrigerator into a freezer. Want to keep more vegetables fresh or make use of your freezer in winter? Just go the other way around and turn the freezer compartment into a normal fridge. Such versatility makes these refrigerators an excellent option for bigger families.
Another great benefit is the control over power use. If you just have items in your main refrigeration compartment and the freezer is empty, you can reduce power consumption by turning off the latter. The main compartment will stay on. Note that this mechanism is mostly available in newer convertible refrigerators, though.
There aren’t any notable disadvantages of using convertible refrigerators, aside from the higher purchase price. So there’s no reason for you not to have one.
Here’s a small summary of all the pros and cons;
Pros Of Convertible Refrigerators
- More space.
- More versatility.
- Power-efficient.
- Good options if you normally stay away from home for extended periods of time.
Cons Of Convertible Refrigerators
- Higher initial price.
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Examples Of Convertible Refrigerators
There’s no set list for these types of refrigerators. However, I can tell you about how some brands interpret them to give an idea of how versatile they are.
5-in-1 Convertible Refrigerators (Samsung)
These refrigerators come with 5 modes, as the name implies.
- Normal Mode: This is the default mode, where one compartment is the normal fridge, and another is the freezer.
- Extra Fridge Mode: This mode is perfect for people who don’t need to keep their items frozen. It’s also incredibly useful for vegetarians.
- Seasonal Mode: This is the perfect mode to use during winter when you don’t need to store ice creams or don’t have a need to cool as much food. When you use it, the freezer will be turned off completely, ensuring a good amount of power savings. You can also use the freezer to store food that doesn’t need cooling, like potatoes or stuff you just cooked and want to keep warm.
- Vacation Mode: You wouldn’t want your fridge to be on if you have to stay away from home for a long time. However, you might fall into a dilemma if you need to store food like raw meat or fish. In that case, you can switch to this mode to keep only the freezer on to have minimal power consumption.
- Home Alone Mode: As the name suggests, this mode is for when you’re home alone. If the rest of your family will be away for a while and you won’t need to make full use of the main compartment space, you can use this mode to turn off that compartment and convert the freezer into a normal fridge. That way, you don’t have to deal with unnecessary electricity bills.
5-in-1 Convertible Refrigerators (Whirlpool)
Whirlpool’s 5-in-1 Convertible Refrigerators are a little different from Samsung’s ones. They’re more optimised for specific uses.
- All Season Mode: This one is pretty much the same as the Extra Fridge Mode from Samsung. The whole fridge gets converted into a regular refrigerator with no freezer.
- Chef Mode: This mode sets the temperature low enough to keep most food fresh but not cool them quickly. As a result, it can offer 23% more energy savings.
- Dessert Mode: Do you like ice cream? Well then, you’re going to love this mode. It keeps both the freezer and main fridge on but concentrates most of the power into the freezer to increase the freezing speed.
- Party Mode: Party Mode boosts the power of both compartments so that you can have faster freezing and regular cooling.
- Deep Freeze: You can use this mode to turn the main fridge off and only use the freezer, just like the Vacation mode in Samsung refrigerators.
Dual Fridges (LG)
LG’s Dual Fridge technology isn’t as versatile as the convertible technologies from Samsung or Whirlpool. There are only two options- you can either use the refrigerator normally or turn the freezer into a regular fridge. This technology still has an edge over Samsung, though. Samsung fridges take more than two hours to convert, while LG ones can convert in only one hour. So they’re a good option to go for if you simply want more space for normal cooling and a faster conversion speed.
8-in-1 Convertible Refrigerators (Haier)
Haier fridges are pretty advanced, and their range of convertible refrigerators is a good example. They’re even more versatile than Samsung’s fridges, though the latter is supposed to have had the technology for the longest time.
- Normal Mode: No need to go in deep about this one- it’s your normal mode where both compartments work as they would in a normal fridge.
- Veg Mode: This mode gives you extra normal fridge space by switching the cooling mode of the freezer.
- Home Alone Mode: Unlike the last Home Alone Mode I talked about, this one simply turns the freezer off instead, leaving the normal fridge turned on only.
- Freezer Mode: This mode is the opposite of Home Alone Mode. The freezer stays on, but the normal fridge doesn’t.
- Vacation Mode: Haier does have its own mini-fridge mode, though. It’s this mode- it turns off the normal cooling in the main compartment and shifts it into the freezer compartment.
- Surprise Mode: Aptly named Surprise Mode, this one allows you to cool your food quickly in your freezer when needed, through the use of Haier’s “Turbo Icing Technology”.
- Summer Mode: If you want the normal fridge to cool faster, then you can use this mode instead. It boosts the cooling capacity of the regular fridge compartment.
- Swift Chill Mode: This one applies the benefit of the Surprise and Summer modes at the same time, so you can have fast cooling in both compartments.
As you can see, convertible refrigerators are super flexible and offer much more functionality than what you’d get from a regular fridge.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Conclusion
What are convertible refrigerators? Now you know the answer. If you want to have the highest level of convenience, you should definitely have a convertible refrigerator in your kitchen. The people who own this type of fridges unanimously agree that they’re the best refrigerators in the market. They give you more space, faster cooling and excellent power savings. What else is there to want in a refrigerator?
Anyways, that’s it for now. I hope I’ve helped you understand how amazing convertible fridges are. Stay safe and cool, I’ll see you in the next post.
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