Drinks fridge or just a second regular fridge?
Anyone short of kitchen space soon thinks about a second fridge. For drinks that is not always the best choice, and sometimes exactly right.
They cool for a different purpose
A regular fridge is built to keep food safe, so around 4 degrees with as little fluctuation as possible. There is often a freezer compartment and the air is deliberately kept dry.
A drinks fridge usually holds 8 to 12 degrees and has no freezer. The temperature may move a little more because drinks do not suffer from it. That saves energy and means you can load it fuller without the compressor working overtime.
For beer and soft drinks that is fine. Wine is slightly different: red wants around 14 degrees, white around 8. A single zone drinks fridge does one of the two well.
The glass is not just looks
A glass door is why people buy these and at the same time the biggest drawback. Glass insulates worse than a solid door, so it uses more power. Put it in the sun or next to an oven and you see that on the bill.
Against that, you see what is in there without opening the door, which saves again.
Noise, and where to put it
This is the point most often underestimated. A compressor that disappears in a kitchen between the extractor and the dishwasher is clearly audible in a living room or home office. Look at the decibels: under 40 dB is acceptable in a living space, above that you will hear it.
Do not push it tight against the wall either. A fridge sheds heat at the back and needs a few centimetres, otherwise the compressor runs longer and fails sooner.
When a regular fridge is smarter
If you mainly need space and do not care about seeing the contents, a second regular fridge is cheaper to buy and to run. You buy a drinks fridge for presentation and convenience, which is a fine reason as long as it is a conscious one.
Our drinks fridge for 55 cans has a glass door with LED lighting and fits under a bar or beside a desk.
Practical tip
Do not load it in one go with warm cans. The compressor then runs half a day, which is exactly what these units are not built for. Fill in two rounds and it is at temperature within a few hours.