Single door or double door: which fridge actually suits your family?

Fridge shopping usually starts with looks and ends with regret about size. Start with how your household actually eats and shops instead.

Rough capacity guide

• One or two people: around 180–220 litres is usually plenty.
• Three or four people: 230–300 litres.
• Five or more, or you shop weekly rather than daily: 300 litres and upward.

If you shop fresh every day or two, you need less fridge than the size charts suggest.

The defrosting difference

Most single-door fridges are direct-cool: the freezer builds up ice and you defrost it manually every few weeks. They use less electricity and cost less to buy.

Most double-door fridges are frost-free: a fan circulates cold air so ice never builds up. No defrosting, but more electricity and a higher price.

Neither is 'better'. Manual defrosting is a twenty-minute job every few weeks. If that genuinely annoys you, pay for frost-free. If it does not, put the money toward a better model.

Star ratings and what they are worth

A higher star rating means lower electricity use, and the difference compounds over the years you own it. But the rating only compares fridges of similar size and type — a 5-star single door and a 5-star double door do not use the same power.

Ask us to show the annual units figure on the label rather than the stars alone. That number is what turns up on your bill.

Things people forget until it is too late

• Door swing direction, and whether it clears your kitchen wall or counter.
• Clearance at the back and sides for air circulation — fridges pushed flat against a wall run hotter and fail sooner.
• Whether it fits through your doorway and up your stairs. We check this before delivery, but it is worth measuring early.
• Voltage stability where you live. If your supply fluctuates, ask us about a stabiliser.