Built in vs Freestanding Fridge

Is it worth buying a built in refrigerator and what is the difference from a regular one?

Built in vs freestanding fridge. A built in refrigerator is an esthetic and universal design solution. They don’t have any significant visual differences, which is not the case with the price. In this article, we will discuss specific features of such fridges and answer if it’s possible to use standard fridges instead of integrated ones.

Features and Differences

Despite visual resemblance built-in fridges have a number of key features that should be considered when choosing and buying it. Let’s start with the negative points:

• Reduced volume. The average capacity of a full-size integrated model is 8.1-8.5 cu ft. You can also find even more than 10 cu ft, but such volume is achieved by reducing or removing the freezer at all.
  To compare, the average volume of a separately installed fridge is 12.35 cu ft, but bigger ones are also available. The only way to get more usable volume of a built-in appliance is to buy a spacious fridge and a freezer separately.
  However, they would take much more space, and not every kitchen can accommodate it.
• Complicated installation. As a rule, built-in fridges are delivered in pieces and assembled prior to installation. This is more labor-intensive, and the price for this service will be higher.
  Moreover, the maintenance requires the disassembling of kitchen cabinets, which also increases the maintenance price.
• Limited availability. The market offers many more separately installed fridges than integrated ones. When choosing this kind of appliance, you will not have a great variety of features and characteristics.
  It also negatively affects their price. Besides, it’s worth mentioning the lack of form-factor variety — only compact and full-size 2-compartment models are available.

However, they still have their advantage. Apart from esthetics, built-in fridges work much more silently compared to the regular ones, as the most of noise is damped down by kitchen cabinets.

Is it Possible to Integrate a Regular Fridge?

Despite the distinct difference between built-in and not built-in fridges, standard fridges can also "fit into the gap" and complement your kitchen design. The main thing to keep in mind is the manufacturer’s installation tips.

Some models require a 1.1-inch side gap, others require 2.7 inches, and sometimes you can even install it tight. If the installation and air exchange are arranged correctly, you will not have any problems with the condenser and compressor cooling.

In order to integrate a fridge, you only need some special fasteners and guides. Luckily, they are all universal and available in sets. The other issue is to fit up the facade and cabinets.

You will likely have to do everything individually as far as the shapes and dimensions of separate fridges are not standardized.

Bottom Line

Built-in fridges are more expensive to buy and maintain, they offer smaller useful volume and limited model range, but you get a seamless kitchen item. That said, if you cannot put up with their downsides, you can always integrate a standard fridge into a cabinet.

The key is to take a conscious approach — if you don’t provide the necessary air exchange, the compressor will bear the additional load, thus shortening its lifetime.