Performances, efficiency, perfect space management and more man-machine interaction. This is, in short, what characterizes today the big kitchen appliance for excellence, the refrigerator.
The refrigerator is a real concentrate of technology and diversified functions, often coupled with essential aesthetics and contemporaneous design, implemented with high tech materials and sophisticated finishes making it perfectly suitable for all environments.
However, if we want to speak of conservation trends, then we must displace our attention on one aspect: customization. Customizing conservation, in fact, through not only aesthetics but also intervening on the space management, on the possibility of integrating performances according to one’s own needs or widening the appliance experience and management through a different and stricter relationship with the refrigerator, seems to be the absolute must for these household appliances.
Concerning this, each component must be designed to perform simultaneously both its primary function, i.e. preserving the stored goods at best, and contributing in the overall machine efficiency. A technology at the service of the foods to be conserved, an innovation that permits to suit the new habits and lifestyles of the contemporaneous living, also in relation to what will then happen in the food-cooking ambit.
In short, the refrigerator is an essential element of a virtuous chain that must be increasingly integrated and “tailored” according to individual real needs. Today the fridge is a household appliance implying a simpler and simpler management but hiding a very complex technology, called to excellent performances and results always protecting the environment and the aware use of resources.
More technology, more efficiency
The technological innovation that characterizes these appliances allows on one hand attaining excellent performances, on the other hand notably improving the energy efficiency and therefore reducing overall consumptions. More in detail, an optimal result is granted only if all primary or secondary components of the machine are thought with an integrated target, developed according to a common concept that allows enhancing qualities and characteristics. We have asked manufacturers what are the technological innovations that share in making the new refrigerators so efficient.
For Candy Italia, the Product Marketing Manager Free Standing Lara Ognissanti, described us the highlights of Candy-branded products: “Our 60-cm combi refrigerators Candy KriÓ Suite, No Frost Bio and Total rank in A++ energy class and are equipped with Inverter compressor that allows modulating the delivered power according to real needs, thus granting a notable 40% energy saving compared to a model in A class. The best refrigeration performances join also the extremely silent operation given by the special soundproofing coating that notably reduces the noise down to 43 decibels. Moreover, we have recently released models equipped with anti-bacterial titanium filter that can eliminate 99.9% of bacteria in just 8 minutes. The anti-bacterial filter is permanent and is activated by the contact with the LED lights of the fridge, generating a reaction that destroys bacteria”.
According to Carlo Busolin, Senior Product Manager Kitchen Appliances of Miele, innovation is expressed by a plurality of aspects, all necessarily integrated one another: “The new range of combi K 20.000 features very important innovations in terms of aesthetics, conservation technology and energy efficiency. Among all, it is worth mentioning the writable door BlackBoard, which in its simplicity represents the concept of technology applied to a daily and practical use”.
In the efficiency perspective, the compressor is undoubtedly one of the components at which companies have worked harder, but also other aspects deserve mentioning, as underlines Federico Ferrini, Product Manager of Samsung Electronics Italia “As standard technology, all Samsung refrigerators are equipped with the Digital Inverter Compressor that modulates the operation according to real needs, permitting to minimize consumptions. Moreover, this year Samsung has also released the new range of double-door models Twin Cooling, equipped with a double refrigerating circuit that allows managing autonomously the two compartments with a notable benefit in terms of energy saving. In this way, for instance, opening the freezer door, we do not alter the conditions of the fridge room, this allows avoiding the generation of an additional energy consumption to recover the correct temperature in the room”.
Themes shared also by SubZero, Paola Massobrio, AD of Frigo2000 reminds that “All SubZero refrigerators are in A + class. The company has worked very hard to achieve these results without diminishing the capacity of the refrigerator itself, therefore instead of working at the better insulation (which generates a reduced capacity) it has introduced the inverter compressor that, having variable speed, operates in steady-state conditions with minimum speed to maintain the temperature and then to consume less. Besides, we have added a valve in the refrigeration system that shares in making the compressor more efficient, always keeping it with a minimum pressure allowing it to reduce consumptions”.
On behalf of Liebherr, Luca Montevecchi, Marketing Manager BSD Spa (exclusive importer for Italy of Liebherr and Asko equipment) explains us the importance of the possibility of interacting with the machine, also in view of a consumption control, thus anticipating a theme of great topicality of the sector, i.e. the control of household appliances by high tech devices: “The new BluPerformance range shows, in Premium appliances, a big display that, besides controlling the machine operation, provides important information about food conservation times and offers advices for the reduction of energy consumptions. Besides, appliances are ready to be connected with innovative remote control services”.
Utmost care of efficiency for Smeg, too. “For a perfect conservation of foods and drinks, Smeg proposes various typologies and models of refrigerators and freezers. The broad Smeg offer is composed by American, combined, single-door and twin-door refrigerator models, up to the smallest under-desk refrigerators, all with forefront technology for great performances and utmost attention to energy consumptions. Proposed in A+ and A++ class, they permit a saving exceeding 25% in comparison with the A standard class. To improve the efficiency and therefore to reduce the energy consumption of refrigerators, without damaging their capacity, in high-end models of the range further devices are used, such as compressors electronically controlled by inverter systems and vacuum insulating panels, provided with better insulation performance.
The meticulous and constant stylish research has allowed Smeg to manufacture refrigerators whose unique aesthetics meet everybody’s tastes and requirements: from the minimal and rigorous design of side-by-side steel or silver versions, to anti-fingerprint stainless steel models, up to the coloured fridges of the Fifties, become real stylish icons”.
Absolute connection
The connection issue, and more in general the man-machine interaction, nowadays concerns all (or almost) the household appliances equipping a state- of- the- art dwelling, a 2.0 house, and the kitchen space is undoubtedly one of the environments more concerned by these aspects.
Refrigerators, too, as the other high-tech appliances fitting out the kitchen, are more and more often managed in digital manner, also at a distance, remotely, with sophisticated but also necessarily simple technologies, which allow once more customizing the conservation. Displays with increasingly cutting-edge functions, automated and pre-set temperature controls, stricter and stricter dialogue with all device kinds, from handy smartphones to PC, without forgetting tablets.
What are the projects at which manufacturers are working?
As states Lara Ognissanti, from Candy Italia “Candy Group matches the characteristics of a high-tech fridge with the comfortable remote dialogue. Combi Simply-Fi refrigerators are connected in Wi-Fi modality and directly controllable through the free-of-charge app Candy Simply-Fi, downloadable from Google Play or from Apple Store for smartphones and tablets. What can the app do? SUPER FREEZING, i.e. to increase the freezing power and to prepare the freezer to the storage of the shopping, SMART COOL, to receive a warning when bottles have reached the ideal temperature, Electronic Display BLOCK on the refrigerator door so that nobody can modify the setups, INFO SYSTEM that informs you after 1 minute only if you forget the refrigerator door opened, indicating the refrigerator health state as well”.
Miele works hard on the connection front, too, “The WiFi Conn@ct system represents the simple and interactive communication between a smart device (tablet or smartphone) and the refrigerator on safe Wi-Fi protocol. The new Miele@Mobile app allows, for instance, controlling the temperature of the single refrigerator compartments or setting some special machine applications”.
A connection that often goes beyond its function, then, reinterpreting the refrigerator role inside the space, as reveals Federico Ferrini from Samsung, “In the second half of the year we will release for the first time in Italy Samsung Family Hub, a refrigerator equipped with a 21.5’’ display and Wi-Fi technology. This product, which will revolutionize completely the fridge role inside the house, will allow for instance controlling remotely, on our own smartphone, what is conserved in its inside thanks to 3 cameras installed inside the refrigerator compartment, receiving warnings when the registered foods are about to expire and sharing the shopping list on the entire family’s devices. Moreover, this product will permit to surf in internet to carry out for instance the online shopping or to consult recipes and video-recipes while we are cooking. A real revolution inside the domestic environment that the market demanded and that we are happy to propose to consumers finally».
Designs and themes at which is working SubZero, too: «We are accomplishing a domotic system that allows controlling the internal temperatures of the refrigerator also remotely but essentially we are working at an option that would enable the service centre to interact with the refrigerator in preventive manner, warning consumers that a problem is arising, for instance involving the fan, and therefore they should replace the spare part before the refrigerator definitively breaks down”.
Vital centimetres
The space issue is undoubtedly one of the trends of the time, in all sectors, for whatever piece of furniture, appliance or accessory is introduced in residential ambit. Flexibility and customization are therefore terms that indicate manufacturers’ extensive research to optimize all useful centimetres of the volume inside refrigerators and to differentiate the food conservation areas.
Smart solutions emerge from that, subtle thicknesses that allow enlarging drawers, containing rooms and shelves, to full benefit of a higher food storage possibility.
About this matter, Lara Ognissanti from Candy Italia explains us how: “The inner space of our refrigerators is flexible, in order to provide the possibility of storing all foods and containers of all sizes with utmost comfort. LED lights, positioned along the sides of the refrigerator, grant utmost visibility with the lowest heating. Telescopic guides, fully extractable to store fresh fruits and vegetables inside the crisper drawing, which is one of the most capacious on the market, and glass shelves to have everything under control and within reach. The bottle-holder positioned under the glass shelf permits to conserve in full safety and creates further space in the refrigerator. The 4 small balconies of the false door permit to conserve foods of various sizes flexibly. They can in fact be displaced to suit bottle sizes, for an optimal exploitation of the door space”.
The geometry of the refrigerator room is a matter of great importance for Miele, too, as explains us Carlo Busolin “The inner design has been opportunely revised to permit a better use comfort and the best food conservation. An example is the introduction of the new transparent drawer Compact Case, an accessory specifically devised to introduce some small objects and foods”.
Highest flexibility also for Samsung. Federico Ferrini “Samsung refrigerators have always been characterized by the flexibility of inner spaces. In addition to standard drawers, we find real adjustable-temperature sections, called Cool Select, which give the possibility of setting the temperature in fridge, freezer or soft freeze modality. Another flexibility example is represented by the new Twin Door that, through the Smart Cooling function, allow changing the traditional refrigerator configuration according to real requirements, with the possibility of switching off one or two compartments or of transforming the freezer into fridge, with notable advantage also in terms of energy saving. Customization and highest organization issues are represented by the FoodShowcase refrigerator, provided with a double opening of the fridge space, one dedicated to daily-use foods and the other intended long-conservation aliments or used less frequently”.
Ergonomics and customization in the space management are aspects researched by SubZero as well: “The interior of a SubZero refrigerator is very ergonomic – reminds Paola Massobrio – Three drawers permit the conservation of fruit, vegetables and meat separately, shelves are all adjustable through a rack and the false door is equipped with variable shelves in height and with a sealed container useful for the conservation of cheeses, butter or eggs”.
According to Luca Montevecchi from Liebherr “Fruit of years of research, the new Liebherr BluPerformance range provides for the use of the innovative refrigeration system, compacted in the bottom part of the appliance, which has allowed increasing notably the internal volume while improving the energy efficiency and the silence, too. Meanwhile, besides the BioFresh system, we have introduced the new BioCool drawer that, thanks to the regulation of the internal wetness, allows preserving the food freshness longer”.
The space customization is one of the distinguishing traits of Smeg, too. “We propose flexible and customized solutions that allow exploiting excellently the wide inner space of refrigerators. In the specific case, we have worked on the flexibility of the positioning of shelves and small balconies of the false door, the latter in particular provided with a flexible adjustment system of the position. Therefore, the capacity can be managed differently depending on one’s own requirements, finding the ideal solution for the various food conservations”.
The largeness of volumes characterizes the Vertigo range by Kitchenaid, perfect matching among elegance, attention to details and utmost functionality, combined with advanced technology. Vertigo fridges– with an exceptional capacity of 460 Litres – represent a dynamic refrigerating system that grants professional performances thanks to its forefront technologies. Through the Multi-Temperature Drawer, the wide multitasking lower drawer that can be customized according to the various use needs, it is possible to re-programme the inner space of refrigerators: moreover, thanks to the special Vertigo Access menu for the temperature control, it is possible to configure and to use from time to time this drawer as fridge, freezer or as Dynamic 0° compartment for the freshest and most delicate ingredients. This means that Vertigo can be used either fully as a refrigerator or as a fridge + freezer or still as a + Dynamic 0° refrigerator: then, you can increase or reduce the inner available space with a simple touch, for a highly flexible management of conservation spaces.
Flexibility in the space management is also the focus of the new solutions proposed by Electrolux. Combi freestanding freezers-refrigerators FreshPlus with CustomFlex system offer endless conservation solutions by using the TwinTech refrigerating technology to offer more durable freshness.
The CustomFlex system permits in fact to customize completely the space according to one’s own requirements, thanks to the door interior that can be equipped with interchangeable containers and shelves.
Moreover, the TwinTech technology retains 99% of the wetness to grant always excellent tastes, separating freezing and refrigerating functions. The presence of 2 refrigerating systems for the air circulation inside the refrigerator and the freezer keeps the freezer dry and prevents the frost formation, while the refrigerator maintains the right humidity level to preserve the taste, the consistency and the nutritional properties of foods.