I have a thirty year old 30.7 cu ft side by side Sub Zero refrigerator/freezer in my garage that works well but is very poor on energy efficiency. I am not sure of the cu ft space of the freezer and refrigerator sections. The freezer section is usually 2/3rds full and the refrigerator part 1/2 full. I purchased a 7 cu ft. chest freezer at a big discount and as wondering size wise, what additional size refrigerator or top/down refrigerator/freezer would I need to purchase in order to have the same space for food items as I have now with the amounts full as stated above? Would you take a chance on a used unit made after July 1, 2001, which is the most recent energy efficient standard? I don’t have transportation that can accommodate a regular sized refrigerator but there are entrepreneurs who offer delivery services.
I personally would hook up a Kill A Watt meter (can be found @ Costco or GTM) to be sure the older frig is as bad as you think it is. We have a 10Cu. ft freezer in our garage (was a scratch-n-dent from GTM) that works great for us. My wife always manages to keep it full.
Throw away all old refrigerators.
At $30 + per month, they make no sense. Buying a new or nearly new one to replace it could pay for itself in energy savings in two to four years–a no brainer.
BTW, the really old empty refrigerators stored in back yards are tempting hazards for children who have been known crawl inside, shut the door, and die a pretty horrible death. (the kinds with old-fashioned handles–not yours, I’m sure).
According to Energy Star, every 1 degree increase in temperature will cause a 2.25 to 2.5 percent increase in energy usage. That means that a garage refrigerator will use 45 to 50 percent more energy in a 90-degree garage than in a 70-degree one.
Bottom Line
Use an energy-efficient refrigerator in a hot garage if you truly need the additional storage space. However, you will keep energy usage down even more by making do with the kitchen refrigerator.
That’s good info Emily! Makes me even more motivated to stick a whirlybird on the roof of my garage, because it sure gets hot, especially in the summer.
I think the first question to ask would be do you really need the addition refrigerator space. If you do you’d probably want a refrigerator that’s of a size where’d you keep that additional space mostly full. A full fridge is more efficient than an empty fridge, especially the more times you open it.
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