The temperature controls in most fridges really get my design goat. Are they a thermostatic  'temperature' control or a 'power' control? They're not giving anything away! If I want my fridge to be colder should I turn up the control to 5 for maximum cooling power, or turn it down to 1 as in 1 degree centigrade? Labelling it 1 to 5 is just begging for confusion. If it's truly a thermostat (and well enough calibrated) then make it clear with 'c' markings. If it's a power control then make that clear with "cooler" / "warmer", red / blue gradients or something. Perhaps I need to buy more expensive fridges with digital thermostatic controls.

FridgeControl

3 Comments

  1. At least they used a log scale on the control, giving some resolution at higher values of x . That’s assuming x has some log response, of course, and it’s far too early to think about cooling dynamics and refridgeration. I think it’s a thermostatic control, otherwise the fridge would be running all the time!

  2. Yes, I rather suspect it is thermostatic but it’s a bit like the ones you get on radiators – very roughly setup with no calibration, so you just have to use trial and error to home in on the right setting. I reckon 5 is probably the coldest setting though.

  3. Too true – same problem on the big fridge at the cricket club, just meaningless numbers so trial and error to find out which way is cooler. Lack of colour coding is just cost, so the designer should have added icons, like one snowflake, two snowflakes etc, easy really but there are a lot of dumb designers, and the senior managers that decide. I’ve met a few of the latter. Dad

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