Free-Standing vs Enclosed Refrigerator Installation.

I’m about to have to tell a client that the reason their beautiful Samsung refrigerator is no longer keeping things as cold as it should is in part due to the fact that they chose the wrong refrigerator for their particular kitchen cabinet setup.

To explain, all refrigerators have to have some sort of mechanism to blow air across the coils to remove the heat it extracts from the interior of your refrigerator. Some are designed to do this from the front. Generally, these are the best models for an enclosed installation.

What does that mean? An enclosed installation is one in which the cabinetry surrounds, wraps and literally, encloses the unit. This means that there is very little air flow to the back of the refrigerator. This is fine as long as the refrigerator was designed to function that way.

This problem is, as I’m looking at right now, some refrigerators rely on air moving through and across the back of the machine. To put this kind of a machine in an enclosed installation will cause it to have a short life because the compressor will have to run a lot more to do it’s job. This will cause it to go bad prematurely.

So be sure to check when you’re purchasing a new refrigerator whether it’s meant to be free standing or enclosed. In most cases, you will find a warning on the sticker that contains your model and serial number.