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Smart fridges were one of the first real smart appliances that people took notice of because they make such a huge difference in a family’s day to day life.
If you’re not already on board the smart fridge resolution, you probably should be. Here are some of the ways a smart fridge can affect your day to day life.
So what is a smart fridge?
Put simply, a smart fridge is one that can connect to the Cloud, meaning that it’s online and linkable to your phone, and to your smart home network.
The amount of benefits this offers is ridiculous, which is why every single white goods manufacturer is moving more heavily into smart fridge production with every passing year.
How can a smart fridge make my life better?
Simpler ordering and food tracking
Some smart fridges come equipped with barcode scanners that let you log what you buy into the system, so it can track what’s inside your fridge at a glance.
On top of this, a lot of fridges also come with app ordering services, that let you refill your fridge at the press of a button, as well as using the built-in devices to look up recipes, create grocery lists, and ping reminders to family smartphones at the touch of a button!
Smarter temperature regulation and fresher food
While it’s true that a lot of fridges and freezers are far more energy-efficient than models from even a decade ago, smart fridges take it to the next level.
Because most smart fridges are aware of what is inside, they can regulate the temperatures precisely to keep your food in the best condition possible.
How does this benefit you? Simple. Everything you get out of your fridge will be fresher, tastier, and healthier, as fresher food contains more nutrients and vitamins.
Plus, food kept in the right conditions lasts longer. Up to two times longer in some cases. Saving you money and shopping trips.
You can look inside without opening the door
A lot of smart fridges are equipped with an array of cameras that you can use to check inside your fridge without opening the door.
This has a huge amount of benefits. First off, it’s a big energy saver. The time when a fridge uses the most energy is when the door opens and the temperature rises, so the fridge has to equalise the temperature.
Most families do this multiple times a day, and the potential savings here over the course of a year are large.
Second, we’ve all had a moment when we’re out of the house and wonder if we have enough milk. Being able to look inside your fridge at a glance and check whether you’re short on something, or the key part of dinner is running out of date, can’t be overstated.
On-demand entertainment
It’s becoming more common for smart fridges to have built-in touchscreens, which in our opinion can only be a good thing.
One, because it allows anyone in your family to control it, without going through a long complicated learning process (tablets are so easy, toddlers use them!) or without relying on a smartphone app.
But there’s also another benefit. By linking your fridge into your smart home system, you can play music or stream shows and movies onto the screen.
This has two big advantages. The first is that you can have easy musical accompaniment when you’re cooking, or otherwise engaged. The second is that you can simultaneously stream to your fridge if the family is in the other room, letting you keep up on a film even when you’re busy fixing snacks and valuable cups of tea.
Variable fridge freezer space
Some smart fridges (especially a lot of Samsung models) are starting to come with a built-in drawer that can be shifted from a fridge to a freezer, giving you a lot of options when it comes to storage.
You can also shift between modes using the controlling app on your phone, which is perfect when you’re out and picking up stuff for a party or BBQ and need the extra space.
Less chance of accidents
Everyone has had a moment where they’ve walked into the kitchen and realised the door is wide open. If this happens after, for example, a midnight tea run, this could lead to your fridge sitting at room temperature for hours, and everything inside going off and having to be thrown away.
A lot of smart fridges now have an alert ping system that reads when the door has been left open for a significant amount of time and sends an alert to your smartphone or other devices.
Smart Fridge Freezers to Buy in 2024
Smart Fridge FAQs
Are smart fridges much more expensive than standard fridges?
While it might have been true that even just a few years ago, smart fridges were much more expensive than a regular fridge freezer, but technology marches on and things quickly become much cheaper.
A smart fridge freezer might now only cost you a couple hundred more than a normal model, and when you factor in the time saved and increased energy efficiency, that can quickly be made up again. Now, a smart fridge is simply a smart investment.
What about repairs? Are they more expensive on a smart fridge?
Sort of. The components that make up the fridge itself are exactly the same as on a standard fridge, so repairs are no more expensive if any of the working parts go wrong.
The only time you might see more expense is if the smart components fail, but that’s also unlikely, as they’ve been designed with the lifespan of the fridge in mind.
Could someone hack my smart fridge?
We’ve heard this complaint before. But if you’re worried about your smart fridge being hacked, you’ve got to ask yourself three questions. How it could be hacked, and what the hacker could do.
The method for hacking your smart fridge is going to be the same as for hacking anything in your smart home. Hacking into your WiFi. So make sure that you have adequate security features on your router and strong passwords everywhere.
As for what a hacker could do? To your fridge, very little. But as your fridge is connected to the rest of your home, and to the internet, the big problem will always be harvesting data and accessing your logins for other services.
