Cooling above freezing below – cooling combinations are popular. The tested devices all performed well, they use little power, but are quite expensive.
The time is running out for the cooling combos as well for all appliances in energy efficiency class A with two or three plus signs. Only devices with the newer and stricter certification take part in the current test and they are now adorned with C, D or E labels, although of course the cooling suits do not consume more than before.
Refrigerators are one of the largest consumers of electricity in the home. Even an economical device means around 60 euros in electricity costs per year. Calculated over the entire service life, the power consumption always exceeds the purchase price. So it is worth choosing a device with low consumption.
In the current test, three devices consume less than 160 kilowatt hours of electricity per year – that would be around 48 euros on the electricity bill. No device in the previous tests succeeded in doing this. But it must also be said that these values can only be achieved with correct operation, installation and maintenance of the refrigerator. Anyone who tends to simply leave the door open for a few minutes when loading and unloading will drive up consumption. The same thing happens if, over the years, the heat exchange fins on the back of the device become clogged with dust and lint. The single kitchen is also bad for consumption if the large refrigerator is hardly filled.
Top models from the manufacturers
Only free-standing combination devices with a separate freezer compartment are being tested: The eleven fridge-freezer combinations are 186 to 203 centimeters high, so there are no chest-high devices in the test. There are comparable built-in models for many free-standing devices. All station wagons had to have the new energy label. But because the refrigerators were bought in December 2020, only the top devices are represented, and the test environment is correspondingly expensive. There is no refrigerator for less than 600 euros, but all devices received a “good” rating. The number grades range from 1.5 to 2.1.
For the German brands, the result is likely to be a bit of a shock. The top three places are taken by devices from Samsung. Among other things, they impressed with quick freezing even without selecting the quick freezing function. The testers write “Champions League level”. That landed in first place for around 1,300 euros with a grade of 1.5. It consumed the least electricity for 750 euros. His grade is 1.9. The cut was good and relatively cheap for 570 euros (also grade 1.9).
Economical and cheaper
The whole thing is also much cheaper, because the purchase in December, the selection was limited. Two examples: the station wagon costs only around 330 euros and, according to the standardized information, only consumes 204 kWh. newcomer Hisense promises a standard consumption of sensational 140 kWh and his are available for about 650 euros.
You can view the entire test for a fee.
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