Temperature Control

• The main factor that determines whether a refrigerator will work properly in a garage is climate control. If your garage is finished, insulated and has the benefit if vents that let in central heat and air conditioning, then there is no reason why a refrigerator can't work just as well in the garage as it does anywhere else in the home. The ambient temperature in the garage is the key for refrigerators. If you do not expose it to extreme heat or cold, then there is not problem at all. If your garage is at the mercy of the weather outside, then there could be issues in some instances.
  
  

Hot Summer

• You will waste a lot of money and wear out your refrigerator much sooner if it stays in a garage where it gets extremely hot in the summer. The warmer the air is around the refrigerator, the harder the compressor and other parts of the cooling system in the appliance will have to work to maintain the ideal temperature of your food. In fact, the refrigerator will rarely ever turn off when temperatures climb into the 90s or above. This constant operation wears out the equipment and has a major impact on electricity usage.
  
  

Cold Winter

• A refrigerator struggles to keep up with its duties in the heat of summer, but a refrigerator in a garage during extremely low winter temperatures has the most problems. Although logic may tell you that the refrigerator will be able to stay cold easier, the truth is that there is nothing in a refrigerator to keep it from getting too cold. So when the temperature drops below 50 degrees, the unit rarely ever comes on, and as the temperature drops, so does the interior temperature of the fresh food compartment. If the temperature in the garage gets below freezing, the temperature inside the refrigerator will also get below freezing and the food will freeze. In addition, cold temperatures can also affect the lubricant in the compressor, and compressor damage can occur if the refrigerator was to come on during this time. This circumstance is rare, but it is possible.
  
  

High Maintenance

• A refrigerator left out in extreme temperatures, either hot or cold, will need more maintenance on average than one kept inside the home or in very mild temperatures. Even if the refrigerator doesn't completely stop working, there is likely to be an increased need for repairs to appliances that remain in these conditions, which leads to a waste of time and money.