It may sound clichéd but a refrigerator is truly an integral part of every home. You could be living in a studio apartment with no room for an elaborate bed but you'll definitely want to squeeze a refrigerator in it, albeit a mini one.

The choice of refrigerator you want to buy will depend on the number of people in the house as well as your food habits. Roughly a two member family would require anywhere between 50 to 200 litres. However, if you like your steak and chilled beer you might want a higher capacity refrigerator. Also if you are the kind who likes their weekly Sunday grocery shopping a larger capacity will be useful.

TYPE OF REFRIGERATOR
Refrigerator types are simple – direct cool and frost-free refrigerator. Direct cooling ones are mostly single door refrigerators and frost-free refrigerators are mostly double and multiple doors. The abundant variety comes in the form of capacity. You can choose from mini, small, medium and large refrigerators.

BUDGET
There are plenty of features for you to choose from. However, knowing the cash you'd like to spend will narrow the range making it easier for you to select. The price range is very extensive starting from Rs 5,500 going up to Rs 2,25,000. Frost-free refrigerators starting from Rs 10,000 have made defrosting a fading memory. There are also models that have an automatic defrosting option which defrost the fresh-food compartment automatically, but the freezer still has to be defrosted manually. Models such as these are priced at Rs 7,490 onwards.

Clean back
Most refrigerators come with clean backs these days. The clean back (or coil-free) refrigerators have condenser coils that are mounted at the bottom of the refrigerator and not at the back (as in most old refrigerators). Clean backs make cleaning easier and provide a safety cover for the compressor. If your refrigerator is placed in your living room, a clean back looks better since the black coils at the back are absent.

Quick-freeze compartment
A quick-freezing component in a fridge may be available as a small colder compartment within the freezer or as a knob that allows you to adjust the temperature of the freezer. If you are a party person or need ice regularly at a short notice, this feature would be particularly useful for you.

Deodoriser
This eliminates the odour from your refrigerator and keeps the food fresh and tasty for a longer period of time.

Child lock
The door lock option prevents children or other people from opening the refrigerator without supervision. You would definitely want to have this feature if there are kids, in the house.

Moisture and humidity control
Moisture and humidity controls in a refrigerator help to retain the freshness of fruits and vegetables. This feature is particularly useful if you shop in advance for the whole week or require storing food for long periods of time.

Reversible swing door
Another cool option is a reversible door swing option, which allows you to change or adapt the door swing of the refrigerator from left to right or from right to left to suit your requirement. This facility is useful if you are undecided about the placement of your refrigerator or need to change residence frequently. If your work requires you to change homes regularly, this feature allows you to easily fit into any kitchen.

Water and ice dispenser
This is not an absolute must have. This feature is in fact available only in the high-end refrigerator models. It lets you drink chilled water and gives crushed or cubed ice without opening the door.

Note: You could reduce 8 to 10 percent from the gross capacity to get an idea of the actual capacity of the refrigerator.