DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

What is the recommended minimum space in millimetres, over and above the actual width of the appliance, which should be left between an integrated fridge freezer and the sides of the housing?

The manufacturers fitting instructions will provide that answer.
Keep in mind that the fridge freezer needs the air to circulate to carry the heat away from the heat exchanger.
Having a decent supply of cool air under and round the unit
and an opening where the hot air can escape at the top will save you money.
Note: The space between a row of various units and the wall can be very cold, and can lead to damp walls and mildew, mould.
Arranging things so that the warm air can travel across the back of the units and help to keep the space ventilated will help.

:) Thanks Perry - I have ordered a new integrated fridge freezer which is 540mm wide and requires a housing width of 574mm for proper function. I have been assured by my kitchen fitter that the housing they have installed will accommodate the appliance and allow it to work properly, but I have my doubts! I am now on my third appliance since the kitchen was fitted, the previous two having broken down. Fingers crossed!

JD333 wrote:.............between an integrated fridge freezer and the sides of the housing?

Actually, the gap is non! These appliances are designed to be an exact fit so a door will fit over to give a seamless run of doors in a kitchen.

The ventilation is done purely behind and mostly beneath the plinth. There ought to be sufficient ventilation holes behind the cabinets to allow the fridge to dispel the warm air.

Ventilation must pass through the fins or coils to cool the fridge down. You need about 200 square cms cut or grill with that area in the plinth that continues under the fridge and up through the back of the fridge/freezer.Otherwise the appliance will not function properly because it cannot lose heat. Just had to sort out the mother in laws fridge/freezer that had been installed 4-5 years ago with about 30 square cms of venting at front. Neff man first of all claimed there was no ventilation then said it was a faulty compressor. Kitchen installer argued that there was adequate venting. However Neff website clearly stated 200 square cms needed and showed diagram of what was needed.Temporary removal of kickboard plinth and a vaccuum clean of the rear fins proved that inadequate ventilation was the problem.

Had to sort mother in laws fridge freezer out. Vaccuumed the rear fin s and removed plinth/kickboard that only had 30 square cms of ventilation. Neff website shows diagram with 200 square cms of draft needed front to back and out the top of cupboard. Neff engineer first said the problem was ventilation and then claimed it was faulty compressor that needed replacing at a cost of £300 or so!. Kitchen installer adamant that the 30 square cms of ventilation was OK and there was ventilation elsewhere in cupboard. What a load of rubbish. A good clean of the fins and adequate ventilation was all it needed. My own integrated fridge was condemned ny engineer who said it needed costly thermostat to fix. All it needed was a clean of the cooling coils. I couldn't believe how so little dust on them caused the fridge to run constantly and put enough ice to sink the Titanic on rear wall every month.

I have a similar question.

I'm looking at IKEA's Frostig BCF228/64 integrated 70/30 fridgefreezer as it has auto defrost on both compartments - and a 5 year guarantee!

The FF has a depth of 560mm and width of 54mm. The housing unit is 570mm wide and deep, so I'm OK on the width, but is 10mm suffient at the rear. I know I have to provide top and bottom venting of 200cm2.

IKEA can't answer this question and Whirlpool's (the manufacturer) customer support team can't find this model on their system.

Thanks

We appear to have a fridge ventilation problem in our newly installed designed(!) kitchen.
The fridge and freezer are housed in a cupboard that runs from floor to ceiling. The gap between the top of the cupboard and the ceiling is about 10mm. There is sufficient ventilation coming in at the bottom as there is a hole 40mm high the entire width of the cupboard in the foot board.There is no back on the cupboard and a gap of 50mm runs between the back of the fridge and the wall.
The problem seems to be at the top. The air from the back of the fridge escapes into the top cupboard and then the roof of the cupboad has some holes to allow the air to escape from the enclosed space into the room via the 10mm gap. However it is very warm above the fridge and the back of it is V. hot too.
Is this a problem? Does a new fridge not require this amount of ventilation? Any suggestions on how to improve the ventilation without making the kitchen look hideous?

I think it's not only the space, equally important should be being protected by harmful bacteria. Panasonic has this technology with silver ions and blue LED light which apparently protects better the food.
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Products/Fridge-Freezers/Overview/4679191/index.html
"Our Hygiene Active system is a combination of technologies which protect your food from coming into contact with harmful bacteria. The combination of a silver filter, which produces silver ions, as well water mist and blue LED light forms an anti-bacterial cleanser called ‘Hydroxy Radical’, which naturally occurs in the troposphere. This natural effect is produced inside a Panasonic refrigerator, eliminating 99.9999% of harmful bacteria. The effect has been tested and certified by SLG, a renowned independent test laboratory."