A fridge is the one appliance in the house that never switches off, so the running cost matters as much as the purchase price. In Ghana there is a second question most buying guides ignore: what happens when the power goes.
Start with litres, not with "big" or "small"
Shops describe fridges by door style and by litres. Litres is the number to compare, because door style tells you nothing about what fits inside.
| Household | Rough capacity | Common type |
|---|---|---|
| One or two people | 90 to 150 L | Single door, table top |
| Small family | 200 to 300 L | Double door, top freezer |
| Family of four or more | 300 to 450 L | Double door or bottom freezer |
| Large household, bulk shopping | 450 L and above | Side by side, French door |
A chest freezer is a different purchase and is usually bought alongside a fridge rather than instead of one. If you buy in bulk or store fish and meat, a separate chest freezer is almost always cheaper per litre than paying for a fridge with a huge freezer compartment.
Inverter compressors earn their money here
A standard compressor runs at full power until the fridge is cold enough, switches off, then starts again. An inverter compressor varies its speed and mostly runs slowly.
The difference matters more in a hot climate, because the fridge spends more of the day working. Inverter models cost more up front. Over several years of continuous use the electricity saving usually repays it, and they are quieter.
There is a catch worth knowing. Inverter compressors are more sensitive to unstable voltage, so pair one with a stabiliser.
Ask what happens during an outage
This is the question shops are least likely to answer on the product page, and the one that matters most.
A full fridge holds its temperature far longer than an empty one, because the contents themselves stay cold. A freezer with a solid block of frozen food can hold for a day or more if you keep the door shut. An almost empty freezer may lose safe temperature in several hours.
Some fridges are sold as having extra holdover, through thicker insulation or a cooling block. If outages where you live last hours rather than minutes, that feature is worth more than an extra fifty litres.
Two habits help more than any feature: keep the freezer reasonably full, using bottles of water if you have nothing else, and keep the door closed during an outage rather than checking on it.
Protect it from the voltage, not just the price
Ghana runs on 230 V at 50 Hz, but what reaches a socket varies, and the moment power returns after an outage is when damage tends to happen.
A voltage stabiliser sized for the fridge is a small cost against replacing a compressor. Many fridges sold here already include a built-in delay so the compressor does not restart instantly. If yours does not, a stabiliser with a delay does the same job.
Read the energy label honestly
Energy labels are measured in a laboratory at temperatures lower than a kitchen in Accra in March. Treat the rating as a way of comparing two fridges against each other, not as a prediction of your bill. A model rated better than another will usually cost less to run than that other model, but both will use more than the label suggests.
Compare the delivered price
Large appliances are where delivery and installation quietly change which offer is cheapest. Check whether delivery covers your area, whether it includes carrying the fridge upstairs, and whether the old appliance is taken away.
PriceGenia shows the delivery fee next to the price where the shop publishes one. Where it says "Not stated", assume it is extra until the checkout tells you otherwise.
Before you pay
Confirm the capacity in litres, the compressor type and the warranty on the shop's own page. Fridge model numbers are long and similar, and a single letter at the end can mean a different size or a different compressor.