Garage Refrigerators

Check your Owner's Manual to find out if your refrigerator is designed to work properly inside your garage.

Refrigerators are designed to operate best between ambient temperatures of 67 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Within this ambient temperature range your refrigerator should keep your freezer between -4 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit and your fresh food compartment between 34 to 38 degrees.  As the ambient temperature increases to over 90 degrees your refrigerator becomes less efficient, using up to 25% more energy and is unable to maintain optimal temperature ranges. When the ambient temperature decreases below 32 degrees your refrigerator may not run at all leaving temperatures in the freezer and fresh food compartment the same as the ambient air temperature. Items in the refrigerator section such as water, pop, beer, eggs and milk begin to freeze while items in your freezer such and meat and ice cream which require temperatures around 0 degrees begin to thaw.

All is not lost if your refrigerator was not designed for use in a garage. Special kits can be purchased that use a small heater to trick the thermostat into running your compressor so that freezer items stay frozen. If the refrigerator is new read your Owner's Manual to find if this will void the manufacturer's warranty.

Locating and additional refrigerator in your garage can give you the extra cold storage you need. Just be aware that extreme ambient temperatures both hot and cold will negatively effect your refrigerator's performance.