Why buy a new refrigerator if the present one is still running after thirty years? And, not only that, when its “harvest gold” color is getting harder and harder to find. But seriously, one real reason to think twice before replacing such an old refrigerator is the fact that the life span of new refrigerators is so much shorter than new ones. A salesman at Best Buy recently told us to expect 5 years from current models. It’s amazing to realize that if we keep our old refrigerator we may get more years out of it, still, than we would out of a replacement.
Yet we did spend quite a bit of time looking at new refrigerators at the beginning of summer. Life expectancy was not the only shock. The new refrigerator models look so appealing that it’s easy to forget about certain important details. For example, my initial first choice looked worth getting until we realized that the door had room for only one full-sized gallon drink container, and the shelves did not have enough clearance to put standard-sized drink containers there. And the shelves were not adjustable. At this point, our old fridge still was preferable to the newer option.
Quieter cooling systems and energy efficiency are important features of new refrigerators. Certainly, we would save a lot of money in our annual electric bill if we had a new refrigerator. As we started checking out more models in Bradenton Home Depot, Lowe’s and Best Buy, we made energy efficiency a top priority, looking for the Energy Star logo. We also wanted to consider having the freezer on the bottom instead of the top, thinking that would mean less bending for often-used items.