I’m sure almost every homeowner you know keeps a second fridge or freezer in their garage. It’s great to have extra storage for frozen meats, berries and dinners when heading into the colder months.
Did you know that most freezers today are designed to be kept in heated rooms? This could mean that your garage fridge of freezer is not functioning at its full capacity and there may be other risks associated with this practice.
Now for those of you with uninsulated garages, you might be thinking “My fridge is in my unheated garage and it works just fine”. You are right…mostly. From personal experience, a lot of the older fridges that I’ve seen in garages seem to be doing just fine in the less-than-warm winter temperatures.
That being said, the performance of your refrigerator will vary based on its “climate class rating”. The climate class of a fridge denotes what range of temperatures will ensure it runs at its optimum efficiency.
The major drawbacks with a fridge functioning outside of its climate class range are increased energy consumption (translation: higher electricity bills) and insufficient cooling of food inside, which is accompanied by a buildup of ice in the freezer. Another possible problem with the old garage fridge lies in the fact that by housing it in an unheated room you could possibly be compromising the warranty on this appliance.
So make sure when you purchase a fridge or freezer for your garage that you make sure the climate class rating corresponds to the average temperatures in the area you live in. Keep in mind seasonality and treat it as if your fridge was going to be fully outside.
You can also think about the insulation in your garage space. An insulated garage can provides a lot of storage benefits including fighting against mold and mildew and the creation of a highly functioning working space.
Read more about the effective insulation offered by our Garage Roll-Up-Door and get a free quote today.
