The best new prolonged, cheap preservation solutions

Chest freezers are a common appliance in most middle-and-higher-income households in Bangladesh, especially since the people here usually shop for groceries one month at a time.

Besides, countless shops and stalls dotted across the country use these high capacity freezers to preserve various consumer goods, such as ice cream and cold drinks, for day-to-day sales.

In addition, with Eid-ul-Azha just around the corner, everyone who offers an animal for sacrifice will need enough storage space to keep the meat fresh for prolonged periods.

The upcoming festival season is also the peak time for chest freezer sales as most people look to upgrade their old units or supplement their existing refrigeration capacity.

As such, most brands and local retailers have come up with various new products while others simply improved their existing technologies.

Electro Mart, which started its journey in 1980 and has since grown into one of the largest business houses in the country, is the local distributor of Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer Konka.

The company also introduced its own brand called Haiko to cater to the domestic demand for consumer electronics.

As such, Electro Mart offers a variety of chest freezers that suit their customer's various needs.

For example, certain Konka chest freezers have triple setting capabilities, informed Nurul Afser, deputy director of the company.

This means that users can easily set the device on one of three modes – refrigerator, freezer and super freezing – by simply putting in the required command through the product's digital temperature control system that allows for quick temperature control.

The super cooling mode is particularly helpful in the context of storing meat after Eid-ul-Azha.

"This is because the meat usually needs to be kept one bit at a time when it comes to traditional chest freezers as they fail to provide uniform cooling when suddenly filled to the brim but with the super cooling mode, this problem is a thing of the past," he said.

Traditional chest freezers also consume large amounts of energy and inflate electric bills in the process. This is not the case for Konka's latest line though as they operate on a wide voltage range of between 125 and 265 volts, making them the most energy efficient units on the market with five-star power ratings from the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute.

The push/pull glass doors underneath the main hatch not only give the units a stylish look, but also aid in keeping temperatures stable while their high density foam insulation retains cooling for up to 120 hours in case of power failure.

Like most models on the market though, Konka chest freezers use R600a refrigerant, which is not destructive to the ozone layer, Afser added.

The other features in chest freezers offered by the brand include european antifungal door gaskets, tempered glass doors and intelligent LED light systems.

Konka even went as far as to address the issue of rats and other pests ruining the machine by building the chest freezers in a way that protects against this kind of damage, Afser said.

"The units also feature an alarm that informs users of any upcoming malfunctions so that it can be repaired in time," he added.

Jamuna Electronics, the consumer electronics wing of Jamuna Group, also markets highly energy saving chest freezers that operate on as low as 135 volts, cutting power consumption by up to 70 per cent, according to the company's Marketing Director Salim Ullah Salim.

"With an aim to provide value for money, we avoid using any kind of materials that are hazardous to health, such as silicon gel seals in the door gasket," he said.

Jamuna's chest freezers range from 150 litre to 300 litre capacities to ensure that consumers are able to pick the size that best suits their needs within affordable prices.

Salim went on to say that perhaps one of the best features though, especially for those living in rural areas where the power supply can be interrupted for days at a time, is that Jamuna chest freezers can also ratain cooling for up to five days when disconnected from a power source.

With excessive icing being a common problem for traditional chest freezers, Jamuna's units, which come in a range of colours, deal with this issue with their non-frost technology.

Singer Bangladesh, which retails its own brand of chest freezers, offers an array of features in its storage solutions as well.

With middling voltage requirements, the company's use of R600a refrigerant makes it up to 65 per cent energy saving.

Singer chest freezers also help solve the issue of users' fast cooling needs with their quick freezing technology that helps save time and costs.

Other than being quiet and energy-efficient, Singer chest freezers have antibacterial door gaskets, internal sliding glass doors and long-lasting wired baskets.

The units also have "fresh and cool technology", which helps keep food fresh for a long time.

This is accomplished by intelligent monitoring and controlling of both the air temperature and humidity in the box so that users do not need to worry about the loss of freshness or the hassle of frequent grocery shopping, making it a convenient solution for the modern lifestyle.

Walton Hi-Tech Industries recently introduced the country's first inverter chest freezer, according to Md Mustafizur Rahman, additional operative director (PR, media and branding) of the company.

"This makes them highly energy efficient," he said.

Walton chest freezers have a number of other features as well, such as nano healthcare technology, which ensures that food is preserved in the most healthy fashion possible.

Still though, the inverter technology is the star of the show as it helps save a lot on electricity bills and also ensures high performance capabilities.

Samir Muhammad Saleh, chief operating officer of Rangs eMart, said his company is ensuring the best retail experience for its customers by providing the most diverse lineup of global brand products.

"In the chest freezer range, we are offering our customers an excellent range of global brands like Panasonic and Hisense along with our own brands Astra and Toshin with capacities ranging from 100 litres to 300 litres," he said.

"This makes them suitable for both small and large families while the powerful and durable compressor with longer cooling retention keeps food items fresh for a longer period of time," Saleh added.

The chief operating officer went on to say that the focus at Rangs eMart is ensuring a customer experience that allows them to make the right decision when purchasing their desired product.

"Also, we proudly assure to provide the best service for every type of product which helps to retain the ultimate customer satisfaction," he said.

Electra International, another one of the oldest and largest privately owned consumer electronics manufacturers in the country, retails its own brand of chest freezers that are up to date with all the modern technologies, said Muhammad Mubarok Hossain, the general manager (sales and marketing) of the company.

This includes the use of R600a refrigerant to minimise damage to the ozone layer, inner sliding doors and materials that are safer for human health.

Other than that, the company's units come in a host of different colours as well as stainless steel bodies, he added.