The Old Fridge in Your Garage Is Costing You Hundreds a Year

The old fridge in your garage is probably the single most expensive appliance in your house per unit of usefulness. A 15-to-20-year-old second fridge, sitting in an uninsulated Sydney garage that hits 45°C in February, can quietly cost $200 to $400 a year to run — often to keep a few drinks cold and a bag of frozen peas from 2019.

Why the garage is the worst possible place for a fridge

A fridge doesn't make cold. It moves heat from the inside to the outside. The hotter the room, the harder that gets, and the longer the compressor has to run.

A Sydney garage is a heat trap — west-facing roller door, no insulation, no airflow, often a metal roof. On a 38°C day the internal temperature can push past 45°C. A fridge that would sip power in an air-conditioned kitchen runs almost continuously out there.

There's a second problem people don't expect: many fridges have a minimum ambient temperature too. In a cold winter garage, some units won't cycle often enough to keep the freezer compartment properly frozen, so you get the worst of both.

Working out what yours actually costs

You can estimate it in about a minute:

1. Find the star rating and kWh figure. Most fridges have an energy label or a compliance plate inside the door listing annual kWh.
2. Multiply by your electricity rate. Sydney rates vary, but roughly 30–45c per kWh is a reasonable planning number.
3. Add a loading for the garage. Real-world consumption in a hot garage commonly runs 30–60% above the label figure, which is measured in controlled conditions.

A 1990s or early-2000s fridge rated at around 600–800 kWh a year, running hot, lands in the $250–$400 range annually. A modern equivalent might use a third of that. If you've had it a decade, you've likely spent more on power than the fridge is worth several times over.

If you want the real number rather than an estimate, a plug-in power meter costs about $20 from a hardware store and settles the argument in a week.

Should you keep it?

A second fridge earns its keep in a few genuine cases:

• You entertain often, or have a large household that genuinely runs out of fridge space
• You buy meat in bulk and the freezer capacity saves you real money
• It's a modern, efficient unit rated for the ambient temperature it's in

It doesn't earn its keep when it's an old unit running near-empty, kept because getting rid of it seemed like more effort than leaving it plugged in. That's the most common case by a wide margin — the fridge isn't being used, it's being tolerated.

A useful test: unplug it for two weeks. If nobody notices, you have your answer.

Why you can't just put it on the kerb

Two reasons, and both bite.

It's usually illegal dumping. Most Sydney councils only allow bulky items on the nature strip once you've booked a collection for a specific date. A fridge put out any other time can be fined — and it's about the most conspicuous thing you could leave out.

The refrigerant has to be recovered. Every fridge holds refrigerant gas in a sealed circuit that must be captured by a licensed handler before the unit is crushed. Older units may contain ozone-depleting gases; newer ones carry refrigerants with a heavy global-warming impact. A fridge tipped into a truck or left cooking in the sun can vent that straight to atmosphere.

There's also a safety issue: an abandoned fridge with the door still on is a genuine suffocation hazard for children, which is why councils that do accept them almost always require the doors off first.

Getting rid of it properly

We collect fridges and freezers at $80 for a small–medium unit, $150 for a large one, anywhere in Sydney, usually within 24–48 hours. Collection is kerbside only, Monday to Friday, 6am–4pm, and the unit is degassed under licence before the steel, copper and aluminium are recovered.

You don't need to remove the doors or be home, provided the fridge is outside at the agreed kerbside collection point before pickup. Empty and unplug it, and arrange for it to be safely placed there in advance.

Read more on how fridge disposal works in Sydney, or what happens to it afterwards.

Frequently asked questions

Will you take a fridge that still works?

Yes, and most of the ones we collect do still work. They're just old, inefficient or surplus. "Still works" and "worth running" are different questions.

Do I need to defrost it first?

If it's a freezer or has a frozen-up compartment, defrost it a day ahead and mop up the water — otherwise it leaks through the house on the way out. An ordinary fridge just needs emptying and unplugging.

Can you get it out of a packed garage?

No. We do not collect from inside garages. Please arrange for the fridge to be safely placed outside at the kerbside before pickup.

What about the old chest freezer next to it?

Same trip, priced like fridges — $80 for small–medium, $150 for large. Chest freezers are the other classic garage energy sink.

Book a fridge pickup

From $80, degassed and recycled, collected within 24–48 hours across Sydney.

Book a fridge pickup — from $80 →