It is a little known fact that cold temperatures are actually bad for refrigeration. If you keep your fridge or freezer in a garage or even in a conservatory then you could be putting yourself and your family at risk. This article explains what climate class is, why it is important and how to check your appliance is installed in the right place.

Climate class is the temperature range in which a refrigeration product will reliably maintain its temperature. There are two main factors which affect how large this range is - sensors and insulation.

Refrigerators work by monitoring the temperature around the point where the compressor meets the main storage compartment and turning on the cooling process when it gets too high. As long as that temperature is low enough the thermocouple (a heat sensitive, electronic sensor) stops the flow of electricity to the motor so it does not waste power. If an appliance is stored in conditions below that cut-off point it will not activate its motor and will fail to keep its contents cool. In warmer climates this point needs to be higher to compensate for increases in external temperature and in colder regions it is lower.

At the other end of the range is the maximum heat a fridge - freezer can function in. This is largely determined by the quality and type of the insulation. The hotter it gets outside the more heat the insulation needs to be able to hold but better insulation costs money and can reduce the amount of space available within the product so manufacturers have to find a balance between good insulation and value for money.

If you choose the wrong climate class you could end up with a machine that does not do its job but what are the climate classes? From coldest to warmest they are;

Sub -normal - known as SN, subnormal is the climate class with the lowest temperature threshold and a range between +10oC and +32oC.

Normal - designed to be placed inside a heated dwelling in a temperate region, normal climate class is often written as N and covers temperatures from +16oC to +32oC.

Sub-tropical - shortened to ST, the sub-tropical class is for machines that work between +18oC to +38oC.

Tropical - the designation for appliances made for warm regions. Abbreviated to T, tropical refrigerators have operating thresholds of +18oC and +43oC.

When looking for information on your fridge freezer (or other product) try to find the compliance plate which has the model and batch number on it. It will say something along the lines of "N class" and so long as you bear in mind what SN, N, ST and T mean (sub-normal, normal, sub-tropical and tropical respectively) you will be able to find out whether your refrigerator is in the right place or whether it needs moving.