Smart Fridges: Are They Worth It?
About five years ago, everybody was talking about the brave new world of smart appliances, one in which all the white goods in our home would speak to each other and make our lives better. At the time, many people called it a gimmick and said that it would never happen. Today, however, it has happened, thanks to companies like LG and Samsung, who pushed hard to bring the technology to the consumer market.
If you thought that being able to see the contents of your refrigerator from your smartphone was futuristic, then you’re in for a surprise. That technology is here today. It means that you can theoretically view the inside of your fridge while you’re in the supermarket to work out whether you need a new iceberg lettuce or not. While the shopping list will likely remain a thing, the latest technology makes it much less catastrophic if you forget what you have in the house. You just fire up your app, view the live feed of the contents of your fridge, and then grab what you need.
Better Energy Efficiency
You might think that smart fridges would use more energy because of all of the onboard electronics, but that isn’t the case at all. It’s actually the reverse.
One of the great things about these refrigerators is that you can browse their contents without having to open the door. This helps to keep the cold air inside until you’re absolutely ready to decide what you want to withdraw.
Many of the top smart refrigerators in the world have A+++ ratings, allowing you to slash your energy bills while keeping all your fresh food chilled, even in a heatwave.
Simple To Repair
You might worry that smart fridges are challenging to repair with all of the new onboard technology. Granted, the electronics component adds complexity, but regular appliance repair is the same. All of these refrigerators still use basic heat-exchanger and compressor technology.
Frost-Free Storage
While frost-free storage has been around for a long time, it’s only with the advent of smart fridges that the technology has developed to the point where you can defrost a whole turkey from the freezer, without creating a lot of frost and condensation.
Extra water is bad for keeping food, so many manufacturers now have anti-condensation and frost technology, preventing the buildup of black mold and other nasties.
Automatic Temperature Adjustment
Some refrigerators are smart enough to know what you’ve put inside them and adjust the temperature accordingly. For instance, Bosch’s Series 6 fridges come with settings that will automatically adjust the chill factor if you’ve put meat, fruit, veggies, or fish on the shelf.
Smart refrigerators continue to develop. We’re beginning to see the introduction of machine learning, which allows fridges to alert owners when the milk runs low. We also see integration with online grocers, opening up the possibility that consumers’ refrigerators will order items automatically, without any user input at all. Filling the fridge could soon become as automatic as the central heating.