The AC in my apartment can’t be used for a few days, and temps here in Texas are regularly topping 95 F, maybe 100 F. Would that make my kitchen fridge and freezer overwork itself, trying to maintain the normal coolness?
The user manual probably has an operating temperature. I think 100-110 F on the max end is pretty common.
Reducing the amount you open the doors during the non-AC period should help mitigate the heat issues.
When the compressor is running it consumes X amount of power. X doesn’t change much with variations in ambient temperature. What changes is the duty cycle, i.e. the percent of any given period of time that it’s running. If the room is 50 degrees, maybe the compressor has a 10% duty cycle, and if the room is 100 degrees, maybe the compressor has a 90% duty cycle.
When the compressor runs, it doesn’t care how long each operating period is, except that the total “on” hours accumulate over the years and eventually wear it out. But having the compressor run for 23 hours in one day isn’t really any different from running one hour per day for 23 days; it’s not going to overheat or anything if it runs for a long time continuously.
TL,DR: getting through a limited-term heat wave without AC won’t significantly affect the longevity of your fridge. But if your fridge lives in a 100-degree environment all the time, it might not last as long as the manufacturer says it should.
Whether or not it’ll deal with the heat will depend on the model. Even if the maximum temperature gets into the upper 90s, it shouldn’t get quite that hot inside. I wouldn’t think it would be an issue unless your home has shockingly poor insulation and/or you open all the doors and windows.
I’d be more worried about the humidity if you live in the swampy part of Texas. Wouldn’t be shocked to see a fair amount of moisture inside after a few days.
Also, seconded on minimizing the number of times you open it.
I live in Texas too and have a fridge/freezer in my garage for the last 12 years or so. As previous posters have written, the compressor does cycle more often than the fridge inside the house, but otherwise I’ve had no issues.
Some of the longest running appliances are shoved into garages and odd places… or make it through a long life sans climate control in the home.
Seemingly, they never die, despite running more because of their environment. While death seems to never come for these old beasts, wear and tear will probably see them running less efficiently and sooner as they age more rapidly. So, they don’t die, but their efficiency curve drops faster. As they refuse to give up the ghost, their owners dedication to them increases, and then, despite running horribly, they are protected like a family member.
Completely solving for the problem would require some math, in which you trace the cost of running the old, worn, inefficient beast (probs need to unplug it for a while to compare bill with it vs without and control variables) vs the ROI (and its turn time) of a new appliance.
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I have done some thinking and here is the first principles thought :
1> Refrigerator inside House : The refrigerator consumes less power because it’s surrounding is cooler BUT the AC consumes more removing the heat from the house.
2> Refrigerator outside House (garage) : The refrigerator does more work but the AC is not burdened.
So if you are looking at the overall power consumption, you will consume more power if you keep the same refrigerator inside the house versus outside (in the garage).
Doubtful.
A whole-house A/C is likely to be much more efficient than a refrigerator. Also, in the winter you get the benefit of the heat from the refrigerator to help heat the house.
In the winter, the refrigerator consumes lot less power in the garage than inside the house.
Moreover, with respect to the OP, most Texas houses are heated by natural gas and not electricity.
So money wise, it’s likely cheaper to have the refrigerator in the garage than inside the house for Texas winters (for homes heated by gas).
If the house is heated by electricity then you are correct but it all depends on outside temperature and inside temperature settings
Factor in all the times you go in/out to the garage.
Factor in that gas is 3 to 4 times cheaper than electricity for the same BTU and Texas winters are mild.