Small Home Appliances
All about Small Home Appliances information
Small Refrigerators Come in Many Shapes and Sizes
Oct 28th
There are many models to choose from when shopping for a small refrigerator. Also known as a compact refrigerator or a mini refrigerator, these pint sized appliances are range from single can holders to anything smaller than 18 cubic feet. At which point it is considered a standard sized refrigerator. The most common models that come to mind are between 2.8 to 4.4 cubic feet.
The designs that are around 2.8 cubic feet are sometimes referred to as compact cube refrigerators because of their roughly cube shaped contour. These are best for beverages since they cannot hold much else beyond a snack and some drinks. It is great for game rooms or offices where a full sized fridge will serve the primary purposes of a refrigerator. One of the best things about such small units is the small price tag which usually runs around $100.
Then there are mid-sized refrigerators that can be anything between 2.5 and 10 cubic feet of storage space. These usually have a small full-width freezer compartment which is much more useful than the half-width freezer compartments of most compact cube refrigerators. This mid-sized small refrigerator is more often used in small apartments or dorms where there is a need to store a couple days worth of groceries for one person.
With more room for storage, an apartment sized refrigerator is often used as it is named, in small apartments where the limited kitchen space prevents the person from having a full sized refrigerator. This class of mini refrigerators range anywhere from 5 cubic feet to the upper limit of small refrigerators at 18 cubic feet.
On the larger end of the scale, the models tend to be large enough to have a separate freezer compartment. Then there are ice maker and keeper available as an additional feature for refrigerators of this size. Larger refrigerators have more space and flexibility to include additional conveniences and features.
By: Will Edison
Cooking Appliances
Sep 12th
There are so many different types of cooking appliances available on today’s market. There are the more traditional range cookers, hobs, built in ovens, double ovens, cooker hoods and the most recent advance in cooking technology- the microwave. All have their advantages and disadvantages and the one that you choose will depend on your preference of style, the size of your kitchen, the space you have available in it and the amount of money that you have to spare on your new cooking appliances.
Microwaves have definitely shaped the way in which we cook over the last couple of decades. Meals that used to take hours to prepare, now can take a matter of minutes with a simple touch of a button and a stir half-way through. Not only do microwaves help you to save on cooking time, but they can also help you to save on your cleaning time too- no more scraping scrambled egg off of your ‘non- stick’ saucepan after a full English breakfast. Of course, many people like to be able to put a labour of love into cooking family meals and for that, you really need to be using more traditional cooking appliances.
Range cookers look great in a traditional or a contemporary kitchen and have everything that you need combined into one cooking appliance- that is your oven, your grill and your hob all in one. Of course, the colours and styles that are available to you differ between manufacturers. If you do not mind paying a little extra, Britannia has one of the largest selections of colours for cooking appliances and even patterns so that you can fully customise your home to just the way you want it. But there are plenty of more basic options available from dozens of manufacturers in black, white and stainless steel that are still practical, but come with a bit of a smaller price tag.
Range cookers are freestanding cooking appliances, but more and more, people are having their cooking appliances integrated into their design and built in ovens and hobs that are built in to the existing counter look sleek and match easily with the rest of your cooking space, helping you to keep everything coordinated. The main problem that comes with built in ovens is that they are lower down than most freestanding ovens- not great for if you have a bad back- but if you can handle the height then they can really give your kitchen that modern look.
Whether you do decide upon a freestanding range cooker or on a built in oven and hob, there are still more options available to you and they rely almost entirely on your preference when it comes to cooking. The three main choices that you have when choosing a new hob are gas, ceramic and induction, but Domino hobs have been introduced to the cooking appliances market recently as well. Domino hobs allow you to combine different types of hobs into one. For example, you can choose to have two gas burners and two ceramic zones, some manufacturers offer a Chef Top, which is a new and healthy way to cook on the hob and makes your food taste great too. Gas is still a household favourite because of its controllability, but induction hobs are becoming more and more popular because they are safe and cook food far more efficiently than other types of hob.
Another addition to the contemporary style is the very practical (and often stylish) cooker hood. The cooker (or extractor) hood, like many other modern cooking appliances, comes in a range of different styles, the main ones being canopy hoods, chimney hoods, island chimney hoods and integrated hoods. The job of a cooker hood is basically to ventilate your kitchen for you and to get rid of ‘used’ air and grease particles. The cooker hood does this by replacing them with fresh air particles. You could do this by leaving a door or window open because of natural air movement, but this is dependant on the air temperatures, which in turn is dependent on the time of the year. For example, in the warmer summer months this process is unlikely to be very effective because there is, in theory, less likely to be a breeze and the air does not feel fresh. But in the winter the natural process is effective, but you are likely to either get very cold or spend a lot of money on heating that is being lost through open doors and windows. This is why a cooker hood is the best option for effectively ventilating and keeping the air fresh.
By: Braeg Heneffe