Need help in purchasing a refrigerator.

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But like you said the BEE ratings get derated over time. Essentially if a maker goes to the BEE insitution and say the newly made fridge consumes less power, and present the data, it gets better star, and as a result the existing models' star rating will come down. But point to be noted is their consumption whatever is recorded on the product label stays the same almost.

I find higher rated fridges which are larger consuming similar to smaller fridges with lower ratings.

If you were to compare a 4 star of today with a 4 star from previous years of similar capacity then are they similar ?

The con side of this improvements is increase in dependency/complexity on electronics. For instance, there will be a fan for circulation which prevents frosting. This fan consumes around 6w, and is of type single phase induction motor. Now most makers are targeting to make it BLDC to bring down the power consumption. The con side of this is increased electronics to drive the BLDC motor, and as a result cost involved. Likewise makers go for alternate electronic spares to bring down the losses in inverter bridge.

That fan keeps the temperature uniform or as close to across the fridge. You want a fridge with such a fan. I don't consider power savings without it as worth it.

I've seen videos where that fan can get frosted and makes a very loud noise and the most common reason that happens is due to overloading the fridge.

I don't know if your fridge has door cooling but the one you linked does have it. That is a good feature to have in a fridge for the reason mentioned.

 

[diy-maniac]

If you were to compare a 4 star of today with a 4 star from previous years of similar capacity then are they similar ?

They mostly are not similar. There will be difference as there are improvements in terms of how they achieve the cooling, type of refrigerant, and other minute design changes the makers make to beat the previous power consumption.

That fan keeps the temperature uniform or as close to across the fridge. You want a fridge with such a fan. I don't consider power savings without it as worth it.

Nope I don't mean to remove or get rid of it. Makers are attempting to put bldc fan in place of it to bring down the over all power savings. Like I mentioned earlier, the con side of it the increased electronics to drive the bldc motor.

I don't know if your frifge has door cooling but the one you linked does have it. That is a good feature to have in a fridge for the reason mentioned.

The fridge I have has door cooling, and I have no regrets choosing this model/size/whatever in these 5 years. Now I need to depart from it as I'm moving out

 

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For one, are you sure the smart inverters are still running on reciprocity based ones?

Smart is the gen before linear and linear came out in 2014. We only got to see it in India few years later.

LG REFRIGERATOR WITH INVERTER LINEAR COMPRESSOR EARNS INDUSTRY RECOGNITION | LG NEWSROOM

Advanced Compressor Technology From LG Sets New Standards in Home Appliances SEOUL, Apr. 25, 2014 — Refrigerators from LG Electronics (LG) featuring the company's Inverter Linear Compressor have

www.lgnewsroom.com

Types of Refrigerator Inverter Compressor: Digital | Plasma | Linear | Intellisense | Nutrifresh

When a variable-speed compressor is being controlled by a microprocessor using algorithms then it is often marketed as digital inverter. Godrej markets its digital inverter as nutrifresh inverter. Digital inverter compressor involves 4 friction point whereas linear inverter compressor reduces...

www.bijlibachao.com

 

[diy-maniac]

Could anyone with a wattage metre tell me how much do these 4/5 star fridges of modern day consume on per hour basis? I am holding on to a 35+ y.o Alwyn one, which never gave any problem but it consumes like 110W/hr. So wondering whether the modern day ones are actually electricity saving. And I don't care for large ones, need something small.

If 110W/hr is remaining consistent through out the day, thats quite a consumption. Please refer below for the consumption of the fridge I have.

Have you measured the power consumption ? how many units per day does it consume in your present use

It's presently rated as 2 star with closest equivalent i could find LG GL-T292RSDU

The thing with these BEE ratings is they lose stars with time so for a 2017 model this is normal.

Here is a 253L Samsung that averages 0.78 units per day

I've put a watt meter yesterday, and it consumed 0.67 units for one day. This is a 4 star refrigerator bought in July 2017. I can follow up this comment after 2-3 days to see if it reports any spike in consumption. Just to let you know the home ministry is not alerted to carefully use refrigerator to reduce number of times opening the door or the period for which door is usually kept open. Also the fridge is fully loaded.

 

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I can follow up this comment after 2-3 days to see if it reports any spike in consumption. Just to let you know the home ministry is not alerted to carefully use refrigerator to reduce number of times opening the door or the period for which door is usually kept open. Also the fridge is fully loaded.

Yeah do that so we get a three day average.

Which watt meter are you using btw ?

 

[diy-maniac]

Yeah do that so we get a three day average.

Which watt meter are you using btw ?

https://www.amazon.in/Meco-Metering-Monitor-Digital-Voltage/dp/B07D2DFBJJ

 

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https://www.amazon.in/Meco-Metering-Monitor-Digital-Voltage/dp/B07D2DFBJJ

It's good. Does RMS measurements

 

[diy-maniac]

It's good. Does RMS measurements

Yea, I calibrated it for what its worth.

 

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Yea, I calibrated it for what its worth.

I got 1.1 units after 24 h at a freezer temperature setting of -18°C and fridge temperature of 3°C which remained constant for a few days. This is for a 471L fridge.

BEE's figure said it should be 0.65 units per day or 237 units per year.

How many units per year does the 4 star sticker on your fridge say ?

 

[diy-maniac]

I got 1.1 units after 24 h at a freezer temperature setting of -18°C and fridge temperature of 3°C which remained constant for a few days. This is for a 471L fridge.

BEE's figure said it should be 0.65 units per day or 237 units per year.

How many units per year does the 4 star sticker on your fridge say ?

198 units per year

And the BEE ratings are mostly idealistic cases, which cannot be made applicable in day-to-day usage.

 

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Yea, I calibrated it for what its worth.

How did you do that ? manual does not indicate any calibration settings and claims product is tested at the factory and found to be in accordance with 'applicable specifications & standards'

198 units per year

That is 0.54 units/day

Your read is 0.67. Only 10% difference

Mine should give 0.65 yet i measured almost 80% more

And the BEE ratings are mostly idealistic cases, which cannot be made applicable in day-to-day usage.

I've ordered the meter you got suspecting mine might not be as accurate. That is inspite of the claim it can do RMS.

 

[diy-maniac]

How did you do that ? manual does not indicate any calibration settings and claims product is tested at the factory and found to be in accordance with 'applicable specifications & standards'

I have other equipment to deal with; like True RMS multimeters, oscilloscope etc...So I pass some known current or read some x current, and ensure the reading is consistent across multiple equipment.

 

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I have other equipment to deal with; like True RMS multimeters, oscilloscope etc...So I pass some known current or read some x current, and ensure the reading is consistent across multiple equipment.

OK, i think i will have to contact the company and ask them for options

 

[diy-maniac]

OK, i think i will have to contact the company and ask them for options

They may not cater to this kind of req most of the times, but they may provide you with internal test/verification data.

Here is something you can do if it permits. Have all the devices(including an idle phone charger brick) turned off except the one you want to monitor, and look at the current consumption on the watt meter and the home energy meter. They both should show same/similar numbers. This way you can be assured that the watt meter you have reports realistic numbers

 

[dexterz]

did you buy the fridge yet? i'm also planning to look at some LG/Sammy models over the weekend, preferably in 300~400L range

 

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

Not yet... But mostly I have decided to go for RT34T4513S8 from Samsung. It's a 324 lit gross volume, 300 lit actual. Would be visiting some stores tomorrow. Should suffice for a family of 4.
All models, certification are of 2020 make. Pisses me off!!
The shop from whom I usually get is having a model which is a 2* variant of the model mentioned above. On top of that, exchange value is merely 2500. I would be getting this at 30k from offline, on Amazon it will cost me 27k. Amazon is giving 6500 on exchange, but the MRP is high.
I am In a dilemma that in order to save 3k, I may end up making a bad decision by purchasing online.

 

[dexterz]

Not yet... But mostly I have decided to go for RT34T4513S8 from Samsung. It's a 324 lit gross volume, 300 lit actual. Would be visiting some stores tomorrow. Should suffice for a family of 4.
All models, certification are of 2020 make. Pisses me off!!
The shop from whom I usually get is having a model which is a 2* variant of the model mentioned above. On top of that, exchange value is merely 2500. I would be getting this at 30k from offline, on Amazon it will cost me 27k. Amazon is giving 6500 on exchange, but the MRP is high.
I am In a dilemma that in order to save 3k, I may end up making a bad decision by purchasing online.

I'm looking at the 360L LG model. Amazon prices are cheaper and getting more on exchange. I've purchased LG washing machine from Amazon in the past and it's been working good for the last 4years. So I'm also in a similar situation of whether to go with Offline store or get it from Amazon.

 

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

For me it was the exact opposite. Last year, I got an LG AC from my regular offline store and its price was cheaper than Amazon after exchange and stuff.
Honestly, it's a mixed bag. The bigger problem for me would be constant whining from family should something go bad with an online product. Dealing with first level customer care is futile. Atleast, Amazon is somewhat better in this aspect, straight refund. Dealing with FK is a nightmare.

 

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So I'm also in a similar situation of whether to go with Offline store or get it from Amazon.

I contacted a seller from Amazon, discovered he was located outside the city and his prices were cheaper than the offline shops due to cheaper shop rent outside the city.

On top of that he offered to take the old fridge back and deduct something provided the sale was conducted offline. The fridge i wanted on Amazon did not offer any exchange.

 

[ibose]

I got this for 36k after exchange (with an older but smaller LG double door) recently in Feb for my parents -

Amazon.in

Checked 2-3 offline stores but they could not offer anything less than 38k after exchange. Amazon offered a higher exchange value compared to only 1k scrap value which the offline stores were giving. This is in Kolkata.
My parents have been always happy with LG refrigerators including their service. This was no different as the technician arrived within an hour of delivery, set-up and explained everything pretty well.