It's no secret that you can save a lot of money on your grocery bill by buying food in bulk and freezing it for later use. If you have to feed a family on a tight budget, you already know how wise a strategy this is for keeping your food expenditures under control. However, a freezer is a major purchase, and if you need frozen storage space beyond what's available in your refrigerator's built-in freezer (if it has one), you'll want to take your time to compare your options and ensure you're getting the right fit.
The first thing to do is take measurements of the space where you're going to be putting your freezer to make sure it will fit. Unlike fridges, freezers come in both chest and upright configurations, giving you more flexibility in terms of size and placement.
Storage capacity is a very important consideration, as larger freezers cost more and smaller freezers cost less. It makes no sense to buy a large freezer and leave half of it empty, as you'll be wasting electricity as well as space.
To optimize your energy efficiency, choose a freezer that bears the Energy Star seal. This ensures that it is designed to exceed government energy efficiency requirements, and will save you money on your power bill over the long run. Appliances bearing the Energy Star seal use 10 to 50 percent less energy than the maximum energy expenditure allowed.
Finally, consider the respective merits of both chest and upright freezers. Chest freezers are compact and energy-efficient, stay colder longer during power outages and are less expensive, but they are difficult to organize. Upright freezers are more easily organized, have superior interior lighting and require less space, but they tend to be more expensive and use more electricity to bring to temperature.