Fridges, freezers, and fridge-freezers are all designed to operate within specific temperature ranges (climates). If you place one in a kitchen, or in a separate room inside your house, it’s likely that it will operate as intended. However, it’s not advisable to place a refrigeration appliance next to a heat source such as a radiator or a cooker – or even in strong direct sunlight).
If you place one in an outside building such as a shed or garage you may be putting it into temperature ranges that fall outside the designed limits. You could then experience problems such as not working properly or completely malfunctioning.
So think carefully before installing a refrigeration appliance in a garage or outbuilding if the temperature inside is likely to get much higher or much lower than that of its stated climate class. If you buy any refrigeration appliance in the UK it is highly likely to be only designed to work in a kitchen or utility room. (e.g. Freezer defrosted: Can you put a fridge freezer in a garage?)
All fridges, freezers, and fridge freezers should have a climate class printed on their rating plate (or maybe in the instruction book). This class indicates the minimum and maximum temperatures that the appliance is suitable to work in. The most common climate classes sold in the UK are listed in the form below. (where is the serial number on a fridge or freezer?)
NOTE: Your appliance may not necessarily use the phrase “climate class”, on my freezer the writing is very small and it just says “class SN”. I would expect most refrigeration appliances in the UK would be climate class SN but check your rating plate.
| Climate Class | Min Temperature | Max Temperature |
|---|---|---|
| N | 16 ° | 32 ° |
| SN | 10 ° | 32 ° |
| ST | 18 ° | 38 ° |
| T | 18 ° | 43 ° |
The above climate classes stand for – N = Temperate climate, SN = Extended Temperate climate, ST = Sub Tropical, T = Tropical.
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Thanks Andy it just seems to be LG models and they’re available on UK websites. They state recommended room temp as between 18 – 43, just not sure whether to risk buying one, might give there tech department a ring!
Recommended temperature just implies it will operate optimally at 18 degrees or above. It will almost certainly still operate below 18 degrees, what you need to find out is what consequences (if any) there would be if it was 16 degrees overnight, and what temperature drop would cause proper problems.
Mike Lewis: Will this machine operate OK in Cyprus I cannot find Definition for SN-T
Hi Mike! My name is Angel from Home Appliance Live Chat Support. Yes, the appliance will still be working fine. The only thing is, if you will be sending the appliance to Cyprus, that will void the warranty as we can only repair appliances that are within UK
Mike Lewis: warranty not a problem thanks it was the SN-T that was throwing me can u define this rating please
Angel: No worries! The S.N is actually the serial number of the unit but I am not quite sure yet, may I know where did you locate this SN-T?
Mike Lewis: its on the main label under class and yes I know which is the serial number. Class is normally temperature ranges for climate but never seen SN-T
SN is normal as is St
Angel: I see. Kindly stay online Mike, I’ll just check it on my resources.
Mike Lewis: Normal classes are N SN ST and T for various climates
Angel: Yes, that is correct!
Mike Lewis: SN is right on the edge for Cyprus whilst ST is OK and T well within tropical rating I just wondered what SN-T meant
Angel: The appliance that we produce varies depending on where the appliance will be released or sold. There could be instances where you will be experiencing concerns with regards to temperature issue. The SN-T could mean that the ambient temperature range for the unit that you have is +10- +43 Celsius (°C).
You can refer to this chart for the information
Mike Lewis: That is how I was interpreting it but was not sure if it covers across te ranges then I am happy
Angel: Extended Temperate – SN – {+10 to +32} Temperate – N – {+16 to +32} Subtropical – ST – {+16 to +38} Tropical – T – {+16 to +43}.
Mike Lewis: Yep that what I got but as I said never seen it written as SN-T. Well I think if you are happy with that then so will I be
Angel: Yes, I do understand what you mean Mike but no worries, if in any case that you have questions next time please do not hesitate to call us back or chat with us again.
Hope someone can help me. Up until recently I was not aware that some fridge freezers were only designed to work in centrally heated environments!
The Zanussi ZRB632FW we have states in the manual, “Climate Class: SN – N- ST – T. The same is specified on all the specifications I have found on the web.
There is no rating plate internally or on the back of the unit or on the compressor. Can anyone help me with regard to what the rating for this unit actually is?
Hello Kevin. My article here shows all the places for a fridge rating plate or serial number that I know of Where is the model or serial number on a fridge or freezer?. If it’s not in any of the places mentioned there’s nowhere else to suggest.
You might find this article interesting if you haven’t already seen it about How are fridges and freezers affected by the room temperature?
Hi, I hope you can advise me what is happening with my large upright frost free freezer (Zanussi). The freezer is about 2 and half years old and the alarm has started to go off. It is sitting in my sunroom which does get quite hot but I manage the temperature with a fan so the room is always approx 25 degrees. However, in the last two weeks the alarm has gone off nearly every day. I haven’t found the reason yet but have pressed the quick free button on and it does go off. Can you help me to identify the problem please?
Hello Carol. 25° is not good, but it is within the climate class range that most refrigeration appliances are designed for. If it has been working okay for 2 1/2 years than it seems unlikely to be caused by the room temperature. Therefore it sounds likely has just developed a fault and needs an engineer to look at it. If the alarm is going off it means it is not getting cold enough anymore. The only thing you can really do is make sure the door is closed properly and that the door seal isn’t worn or damaged. It could be a fault on the sensor, the PCB, or something to do with the refrigerant.
Hi Andy, Thanks for your reply. In the meantime I had taken out the drawers to see if there was any blockages anywhere. I started from the bottom and found some ice, so then I carried on until I got to the top draw (Quick freeze) where I keep ice cubes. When I pulled away the bags of ice I found a LOT of ice and frost. I therefore removed everything from that space and cleaned up the ice/frost. The freezer does seem to be working a little better. We’ve only had the alarm go off once which was after I had cleaned out the top space. A bit annoying. However, having no manual I am at a lost how to check the back of the machine for any further blockages.
Hello Carol. If it happens again need to talk to defrost by unplugging it at least 12 hours or try to accelerate the process with gentle heat or put in a bowl of hot water inside. This is because there is often a lot of ice behind the back wall which is insulated. If that hasn’t been removed then it isn’t too long before the problem re-occurs.
Thanks very much for that. I will give it a go over the next week or so and let you know how I got on.