Should You Put a Freezer in the Garage?
The appliance will be out of the way, but there are factors to consider before you decide to place it there
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If you keep a standalone freezer to stay stocked up between sales or shopping trips, you may be tempted to relegate that large appliance to the garage. It’s a common place for freezers, and often it’s easier to find space there than in a cramped kitchen. But if you live in a region with significant temperature swings, your garage may not be the best place for your freezer.
Changes in temperature in an unheated garage can be hard on these appliances. "You need to make sure that the unit is not exposed to temperatures above 110° F or below 0° F, because that may damage the freezer," says Larry Ciufo, a CR project leader who tests large appliances.
Wendy Treinen, director of brand and product communications at GE Appliances, agrees. “In hot weather the freezer has to work overtime, and in very cold temperatures, the freezer ‘gets confused’ and shuts off, failing to keep a freezing temperature because it ‘thinks’ it is already maintaining a temperature of 0° F,” she says.
If your freezer’s compressor has to work overtime to maintain its interior temperature when it’s very hot in your garage, it costs you more money to run the appliance. If it’s too cold and the compressor shuts off, your food could thaw.
