Does the Room Temperature Affect My Refrigerator?

Chances are, your kitchen will never reach a particularly extreme temperature due to the HVAC system in your home, and this is what keeps your appliances safer. This means that your refrigerator sits at a relatively even temperature all its life and often lives to its maximum lifespan. However, what if you were to put a refrigerator in a place with a more wildly fluctuating temperature, like a garage, for example?

A refrigerator in the garage can be a major boon, but it does come with some considerations. Even if your garage or shed is insulated, the temperature will still be more unstable than inside your home unless you also have temperature control in there. The question remains, do these temperature fluctuations have an effect on the appliance overall?

The biggest consideration when you keep a refrigerator in areas like a garage is that you will be paying more in energy costs to simply run it in there. In both extremely hot or cold temperatures, the refrigerator suffers a decrease in efficiency, and thus needs more energy in an attempt to make up the difference. As such, you will also see an increase in wear on the refrigerator, particularly in the compressor. The bad news is that when a compressor does go faulty, it can be very expensive to replace.

What you will need to keep in mind when placing a refrigerator in non-temperature controlled spaces is that the appliance will likely have a shorter lifespan overall as well as eat up more energy to run. This will cause problems earlier, but it doesn’t mean it is dangerous to keep an appliance in these places.

If your refrigerator or any other appliances are having issues, in most cases you can troubleshoot them on your own. However, some repairs are just complex enough that you may feel more comfortable calling a professional for.