How are fridges and freezers affected by the room temperature?
Refrigeration appliances can be affected by the environment they are placed in if the temperature moves outside the climate rating specified by the manufacturer ( Climate Classes for fridges, freezers and fridge-freezers ). They will cope with most of the UK weather but if the temperature drops below maybe 2 to 4 degrees Celsius a fridge may stop working.
If the temperature gets up to around 30 degrees most units may start to struggle to work if they can’t give off the heat from the condenser (which is the plate normally at the back of the unit that gets hot). The ambient air temperature around the condenser needs to be 10 degrees lower than the actual condenser temperature so that the energy can be given off as radiant heat. If the heat from the condenser can’t radiate away into cooler air then the heat won’t be taken out of the food so it won’t get cold.
In a normal home these temperature ranges shouldn’t cause any problems as the fridges and freezers we use are designed to operate in the UK home.
What happens if you place a fridge or freezer in shed, cellar or garage?
If the maximum temperature is exceeded the issue is likely to be that the appliance will struggle to keep the temperature inside down and could be running constantly or at least for longer periods than necessary. This could cause overheating, breakdowns and higher energy bills. If the temperature drops below the minimum stated on the climate rating the appliance may switch off although it’s less clear to me if this is likely to affect a freezer which is designed to keep food at less than 0 degrees.
Many thousands of people do have a refrigeration appliance installed in a garage and most don’t have any problems that they are aware of, particularly with freezers. Fridges and fridge-freezers are more susceptible to issues. As it happens I have my own freezer, and a second fridge in my garage, which is a separate building and gets pretty cold in the winter. They don’t suffer from the problems associated with a combined fridge-freezer that is only fitted with one thermostat in the fridge as described here Freezer defrosted: Can you put a fridge freezer in a garage? (not all fridge freezers have only one stat) because they both have their own independent thermostats.
Condensation
Another issue with refrigeration in a cold room such as a garage or cellar is condensation and black mould. The cool damp air is attracted to the warm parts of the fridge’s outside wall where condensation can form. This is not normally anything to worry about but you may get mould grwoing on the rubber door seal and it can cause a deterioration of the cabinet due to rust.
If the condensation on the door or sides is constantly there, or is present in small patches all of the time, even when it isn’t cold then it could point to a breakdown in the insulation and is greater problem. If the insulation has gone in a certain part of the fridge or freezer cabinet you will be constantly losing cold air from inside the appliance and it will run for longer and use more energy. A breakdown in insulation is usually terminal.
Written By - Washerhelp on April 1st, 2009 with
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