Argument with kitchen designer... there's no provision to ventilate the fridge... yes but it is integrated!
Can you reasonably stuff a fridge or freezer in a wooden box and expect no efficiency losses?
Argument with kitchen designer... there's no provision to ventilate the fridge... yes but it is integrated!
Can you reasonably stuff a fridge or freezer in a wooden box and expect no efficiency losses?
I would have thought that, theoretically, no, practically, maybe, possibly, also depending on the size of the box compared to the 'fridge. What do the Instructions for Installation say? It sounds like a recipe for over-heated components, and a short life, but the designer will be gone by then. How does the designer explain how the heat is going to be taken away from the radiator at the back without re-heating the 'fridge?
I thought all integrated fridges have a vent at the base. Like this one:
No. The heat it pumps out from it's interior has to go somewhere and the free flow of air over the radiator is required for maximum efficiency. There may be some with a fan to blow air where needed.
Most fridge freezers have hidden in the small print somewhere their precise requirements for local environment. And they can be seriously tetchy - some modern fridge/freezers will not work at all in a garage! (defrosts completely if ambient temperature is below 5C)
Most units you can find spec details online to check.
ttp://
Not a lot of use when you are trying to vent *warm* air.
MBQ
It's not an old/modern issue, it's the design of the cooling circuit and how it reacts to already being (or thinking it is) cold enough due to the low ambient.
MBQ
The link above shows a Bosch Integrated 'Fridge, which clearly shows pictures of the Air In and Air Out both using the integral vent underneath the unit, so that one is obviously designed for just this arrangement. That is not to say that all are, but that one is.
--=20 Davey.
fridge... yes but it is integrated! Can you reasonably stuff a fridge or freezer in a wooden box and expect no efficiency losses? -- Tim Lamb
You are right.
take a look here:
The standard is EN 153: Class N suitable between 16 to 32 =B0C=20 Class SN suitable between 10 to 32 =B0C Class ST suitable between 18 to 38 =B0C Class T suitable between 18 to 43 =B0C
UK models are often quoted as 'SN-ST' i.e. 10 to 38 =B0C Despite the climate class, some will work beyond I've seen some products cl= aim to be suitable for use in a garage. For example:
Rubbish. It is a quirk of the choice of refrigerant liquid and one of them effectively stops working at 5C ambient. It is fine in a kitchen at ambient 15C or higher but useless at 5C or lower.
It is particularly disastrous in a freezer since the entire contents defrost when ambient temperature fall to 5C in the garage for extended periods and ironically external temperatures are typically sub-zero.
You can find the details online somewhere. I have in the past posted a link to the relevant mixtures used, boiling points and limitations. Unfortunately Google groups is no longer able to find it. You really do need to look very carefully at the ratings plate to spot this!
to be suitable for use in a garage. For example:
My brother in law was unlucky... his didn't at all. Very messy!
I have posted a link to this once before but could no longer find it.
Yes. As I understand it, the compressor stops working below x degrees and the temperature inside the cabinet rises. It should be made a lot easier to buy something with a specified minimum temperature below 10 degrees.
My fridge has a solid back made of some kind of corrugated plastic, so these presumably need no ventilation. No holes in it at all.
Brian
Having a poke about it seems that mine has some kind of underside eir extraction system.
Brian
Brian Gaff laid this down on his screen :
The heat must be expelled somewhere, are there vents top and bottom?
Yes they need ventilation. Look in the instruction book.
I'd always thought those were made like that to hide the ugly machinery from delicate female eyes. However an enclosed back would also make it feasible to have a small fan that pushes the hot air around and - presumably - expels it. Maybe there's a fan that alternately sucks cold air, and later blows hot air through the front vent?
It must have some form of forced ventilation then, which uses more energy.
MBQ
It's because they use a single thermostat in the fridge section. In cold ambient conditions the set temperature in the fridge is satisfied and the freezer is never cooled.
Didn't take me long to find my explanation, JFGI.
MBQ
In message , metric snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com writes
She:-)
Not specified. The kitchen company supply the housing and door leaving me to fund the appliance.
I may easily have misunderstood her drawing.
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