Hotpoint HTC20T322UK

Verdict

Most integrated fridge freezers have to compromise on internal space, but the Hotpoint HTC20T322UK maximises the space available, particularly in the fridge. This section has two drawers, adjustable door pockets and a good amount of working space. Temperature settings are basic, and the freezer section is small, but good temperature control will ensure food longevity. If you want an integrated fridge freezer but don’t want to compromise too much on space, this model is a great choice.

Introduction

All integrated fridge freezers require some compromises, as their shallower depth and requirement to work with kitchen cupboard doors restrict internal space.

That said, the Hotpoint HTC20T322UK does its best to overcome this with a large 280-litre internal space and a flexible fridge layout.

Design and Features

• Flexible internal fridge space
• Small freezer
• Basic temperature controls

As an integrated fridge freezer, the Hotpoint HTC20T322UK is not as big as a freestanding model. Look at the competition; built-in models usually have quite small internal capacities; here, Hotpoint has managed to get 280-litres of space, which is impressive.

The bulk of that is in the 212-litre fridge, which is similar in size to the fridge compartment on a freestanding model, such as the Hotpoint H7X 83A W. I found the space to be cleverly arranged, too.

There are three glass shelves, and a wire bottle rack, all of which have a choice of positions. Spread them out evenly, and there’s space for jars or cans on each shelf, but you can remove the bottle rack or go for uneven spacing if you want to store taller items.

I like the design of the bottle rack, as the wire supports work with a variety of bottles, from wine up to 2-litre bottles of drink. The only thing to watch out for is that the fridge only has a total depth of 545mm, so longer bottles can hit door pockets and prevent it from closing.

Fortunately, the door pockets have been cleverly designed. One long door pocket at the bottom is ideal for milk and other taller items. Then, there are four half-width door pockets, with a choice of eight mounting points between them. I found it easy to position these door pockets so that my bottles of lemonade didn’t hit them.

All of the pockets are a good size, and I could easily fit in a variety of condiments, jars, cartons, cans and bottles.

At the top is another full-width door pocket, although this one has a flip-down cover. That’s a lot of flexible storage, and means that most commonly used items can be to hand.

At the bottom are two drawers: one larger than the other.

Each has a humidity control, adjustable for the type of food you’ve got, helping with longevity and preventing wilting with celery and carrots. It’s unusual to see such control on a fridge of this type.

At the bottom is the much smaller freezer, which has a capacity of 68-litres only. That’s not a huge amount of room, so this is a model that’s best suited to those that don’t have a lot of frozen food, or that have a secondary freezer.

The space is basic, but well organised. At the top is an open, pull-out shelf, which is just deep enough to take a box of frozen fish fingers.

Then, there are two drawers, which are deep enough to take a standard frozen pizza.

Temperature control is very basic on this model. There’s no selectable temperature control. However, the fridge and freezer are controllable separately, with a choice of five preset temperature levels each. I went with the middle setting for each one.

The Hotpoint HTC20T322UK is a Total No Frost model. During testing, I didn’t find any trace of ice in the fridge or freezer compartments.

Performance

• Good temperature control
• A little expensive to run

I loaded the Hotpoint HTC20T322UK up with ice packs to simulate real food, and then fitted temperature loggers throughout. I then used our automatic openers to open and close the doors on schedule.

Monitoring the fridge compartment, I found that the Hotpoint HTC20T322UK had an average fridge temperature of 4.89°C, which is only 0.89°C above my target temperature. However, the top of the fridge (6.11°C average) was quite a bit warmer than the middle (3.68°C), so I’d store anything sensitive lower down.

Standard deviation showed that most temperatures fluctuated +/-0.65°C from the average, which is a good result, and shows that this fridge doesn’t let temperatures rise and drop too much.

Moving on to the freezer, the average temperature was -20.4°C, split evenly between the top, middle and bottom. That’s 2.4°C colder than my usual target of -18°C. Standard deviation showed that temperatures fluctuated mostly between +/-0.83°C. Anything below 1°C in this calculation is good, and demonstrates that the freezer holds temperatures stably.

As an E-rated appliance, the Hotpoint HTC20T322UK isn’t the cheapest to run. I calculated a running cost of £44.24 a year, assuming a cost per kWh of 24.5p. That works out to a running cost per litre of 16p, which is considerably higher than on an A-rated appliance, such as the Liebherr CBNsda 575i, although that freestanding model is a lot more expensive.

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