Test method
How we test refrigerators
The uses we score and the tests we run on every refrigerator: electricity use, cooling in a hot kitchen, power-cut hold, voltage swings and noise.
Every refrigerator we review runs in a real home kitchen for four to six weeks, most of them without air conditioning and with afternoon temperatures near 40 °C. Energy, pull-down, power-cut and noise runs are repeated three times, and each review states the kitchen, the load and the voltage range we used.
Each test result in a review links back to the matching test on this page. Compare electricity use within the same size and type: a 650 L side-by-side will always use more than a 190 L single door, which is why we report kilowatt-hours a day rather than a single score.
What we score
- Daily storage for small families
- How well a week of vegetables, milk, curd, an atta tin and cooked food fits for two to four people, and how long greens such as coriander stay fresh in the crisper.
- Bulk storage for large families
- Whether large steel containers, a 10 litre milk can, festival sweets and a month of frozen food fit without stacking, and how quickly the cabinet recovers after a heavy load.
- Power cuts and inverter backup
- How long milk and cooked food stay safe with the doors shut during a cut, and how much power the compressor draws on a home inverter.
- Hot kitchens and running cost
- How quickly it cools from a 38 °C start, how steadily it holds temperature in a 40 °C kitchen, and how much electricity it uses at 32 °C and 40 °C.
- Voltage swings
- Whether the compressor starts and runs reliably as the supply swings between about 160 V and 260 V, and whether it cuts out safely outside its range.
The tests
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Electricity use at 32 °C
We log the electricity the fridge uses over full days of normal running with the room near 32 °C, the cabinet loaded as in daily use. We repeat the run three times and report the average kilowatt-hours per day.
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Electricity use at 40 °C
The same daily energy run as at 32 °C, repeated on days when the kitchen reaches about 40 °C, which is what a non-air-conditioned Indian kitchen sees in April to June. Expect the summer bill to follow this number.
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Fresh-food pull-down to 4 °C
Starting with the cabinet at 38 °C, we switch on the fridge and time how long the fresh-food compartment takes to reach 4 °C. Three runs; we report the typical time.
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Freezer pull-down to -18 °C
From the same 38 °C start, we time how long the freezer takes to reach -18 °C. Direct-cool single-door freezers are not designed to reach -18 °C, so for those the review states the temperature reached instead.
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Fresh-food temperature after a 3-hour cut
With the fresh-food compartment settled at 4 °C and the doors kept shut, we cut the power for three hours and read the fresh-food temperature at the end. The freezer reading is given in the review. We treat 10 °C as the safety line for milk and cooked dal.
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Recovery after a warm load
We load a week's shopping of vegetables and milk at once, which pushes the cabinet temperature up, and time how long the fridge takes to bring the fresh-food compartment back down.
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Noise in steady running
We measure the sound level one metre in front of the fridge while the compressor runs in steady operation, after pull-down has finished. Pull-down noise is higher and is given in the review.
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Power draw while running
We read the power the fridge draws while the compressor is running, and note the start-up peak where we caught it. This decides what size of home inverter can carry the fridge through a cut.
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Voltage range for reliable running
We step the supply between about 160 V and 260 V while the fridge runs and record the band in which the compressor starts and runs reliably, and whether it cuts out safely outside that band.
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Coriander freshness in the crisper
We keep a bunch of fresh coriander in the vegetable crisper during daily use and count the days until it wilts. Greens fade fastest in a fridge with dry air, so this shows how well the crisper holds humidity.