What are the Pros and Cons of a Bottom Freezer Refrigerator?
Bottom freezer fridges are a style that features a freezer on the bottom. This type of refrigerator comes with several benefits and few downsides to consider.
Your refrigerator is one of your most essential appliances as you use it every day to keep your food at a safe temperature. When it's time to shop for a new refrigerator, you'll quickly notice several main types available, including the standard top-freezer style and bottom-freezer refrigerators.
Bottom freezer fridges are a newer style that features a freezer on the bottom. This type of refrigerator comes with several benefits and downsides to consider.
Advantages of a Bottom Freezer Refrigerator
There are several important benefits of a bottom freezer refrigerator that can make life a little easier.
Luxurious Appearance
Bottom freezer refrigerators offer a luxurious style to your kitchen design. Having the freezer on the bottom of the fridge is more popular than traditional top freezer models in upscale projects – so having the freezer on the bottom is both better looking and great for resale.
Small Space Solutions
Since the bottom freezer refrigerator style is popular in Europe, there are many amazing solutions for small spaces and apartment-size kitchens. If you’re looking for a refrigerator for a small or narrow space, you will find an amazing selection of shallow-depth bottom-mount refrigerators.
Refrigerator at Eye Level
Most people use their refrigerator far more often during the day than their freezer. Moving the freezer to the bottom keeps the refrigerator in a more accessible space. With a bottom-mounted freezer, your refrigerator will be at eye and chest level. This layout makes it easier to find and grab all of your most commonly used items, such as milk, cheese, and produce.
Bottom-mounted freezers are popular with seniors and anyone with mobility issues that make it difficult to stoop down as the food in your freezer likely isn't needed as often as what you keep in the vegetable crispers.
Some people even find having the vegetable crispers higher up makes it easier to eat healthily and avoid healthy food spoiling because it's hidden out of sight.
Space-Saving Benefits
Bottom-mounted freezers often have slide-out drawers that make it easier to organize, store, and access your frozen food. These slide-out drawers help you maximize your available space much better than freezers with a single door. With lift-out baskets and sliding drawers, you can access food without digging through precariously stacked items.
The majority of bottom-mounted freezers are also larger than top-mounted styles, making it easier to store large items like a whole turkey or a frozen pizza.
If you choose a bottom-mounted freezer with French doors, you will also be able to open only one side of the fridge at a time if you like, with greater storage space available.
Variable Temperature Settings
Many new bottom freezer fridges come with variable temperature settings for the ultimate convenience. Four-door models are a great choice with an easy-to-use pull-out drawer just above the freezer that you can stock with snacks or beverages at a different temperature than the main section of the refrigerator. Other models allow you to set your vegetable crisper drawers at different temperatures than the refrigerator to reduce food waste and keep produce fresher for longer.
Disadvantages of a Bottom Freezer Refrigerator
Despite the many perks, there are a few drawbacks you should consider before buying a bottom freezer model.
Higher Cost
One of the biggest drawbacks of a bottom freezer fridge is these models tend to cost more than freezer-on-top models. If you choose a bottom-mounted freezer refrigerator with French doors, you can expect an even greater cost.
Bottom-mounted freezers also tend to cost more to operate than models with the freezer on top. Models with French doors also use more energy than refrigerators with a single traditional door. While the additional monthly cost of operation won't be much, it can add up over 10-20 years
Heavier Items on the Bottom
Frozen foods can be weighty, especially frozen turkeys and hams. Because your freezer is on the bottom, removing these items will require more work. This can be a safety concern for seniors and anyone who has trouble bending and lifting heavier objects.
Kids Can Reach the Freezer
Another possible concern is young children having easy access to the freezer on the bottom. Kids can potentially get hurt picking up and dropping heavy frozen items, or they may get into the ice cream and frozen treats.
Bending Down for Ice
If you do not get a model that has a water and ice dispenser on the door, you will need to bend down to get ice whenever you need it.
Bottom-mounted freezer refrigerators are popular among seniors, families, and cooks who want more accessible access to the fridge and don't mind occasionally bending down for items in the freezer. While bottom freezer fridges cost more than standard refrigerators, their benefits may compensate for this drawback if you prefer the convenience and more significant storage space.
