Refrigerator Compressor
Why You Shouldn’t Be Driven By Fridge Compressor Brand
A refrigerator compressor is the heart of any fridge, and it directly affects the capacity, durability, and other characteristics. That is why some customers prefer to choose this part first. In this article, you will find out if one should be driven by the brand and type of a compressor, and when it is better to pay attention to other parameters.
Compressor Market
The full production cycle is an extremely expensive and complicated system. This is the reason why many large manufacturers of fridges (and other home appliances) order technically advanced parts from other niche specialized companies.
Such contracted compressor manufacturers have one peculiar feature — they don’t have any series or model range. Everything is manufactured under custom orders with specific features, materials, and budget.
The same manufacturer can get an order for a durable compressor for a premium fridge and another one for budget-friendly compressors used in inexpensive models. This is one of the reasons why the compressor brand doesn’t always matter.
The other reason is the inconsistency of fridge manufacturers. If you ever were or are choosing such an appliance, you may have noticed that the compressor manufacturer is not mentioned in their specification.
Indeed there are companies with the full production cycle like LG or Samsung — they use their own manufactured components. Either way, you will not get the exact specifications and names.
The reason is that even the configuration of one fridge model may change within the production. Usually, such changes reduce the price to keep up with the falling purchasing power. In the end, a customer can learn about a compressor on a forum or from a video review and buy it, for example, for its durability, but the result will be quite the opposite.
Manufacturers
Despite general market characteristics some manufacturers still uphold their reputation. At the moment we can point out Hitachi – a Japanese Technology Holding with their own fridge brands Hitachi, Matsushita и Sharp, as well as ACC — a Spanish manufacturer and one of the key compressor suppliers for Liebherr. Their sustainability naturally affects the final price, and nowadays you can find these brands only among fridges in the middle and high price ranges.
Compressor Type
The compressor type has also become less relevant in modern fridges. Inverter motors are considered the most silent-running and durable. However, "pseudo-inverters" have begun to appear as the result of continuous cost-cutting, but they are basically standard or linear compressors with a few speeds.
A customer cannot fully benefit from all the advantages of an inverter, but they pay roughly a similar price. The specifications of such appliances respectively describe such compressor as a regular inverter.
Bottom Line
You can easily find a fridge with an inverter compressor from a famous brand in the low-budget range, but you shouldn’t expect it to be exceptionally reliable and durable. Such components are usually manufactured under a custom order and can be replaced with similar ones even within the same model.
When choosing a fridge, you should better focus on more important user-related characteristics: usable volume, defrosting/cooling type, and integration options.
The situation is slightly different for the premium market. While in some cases customers pay more for marketing features, there are still some reliable and quality models, and this is the reason why you should pay attention to the compressor type.