Though most modern refrigerators come with built-in freezers that can hold many of your household's favourite frozen items, a separate freezer can provide you with additional savings and benefits. In this guide, we introduce the benefits of owning a separate freezer and the several types of freezers available so you can choose the best freezers for your frozen food needs.

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Why Buy a Separate Freezer?

If your refrigerator's built-in freezer is struggling to contain all of your frozen items, a separate freezer is a must-have. Freezing is one of the best ways to preserve food for long periods of time without much nutrient loss. It's also an excellent way to cut down on food waste; frozen food stays fresh for much longer than refrigerated food, which starts to degrade within hours. With an additional freezer in your home, you'll find yourself throwing away less spoiled food.

If you want to enjoy seasonal produce year-round, freezing is an excellent alternative to canning, which can be a difficult and costly process. Freezing can facilitate meal planning and cooking, as frozen meals can be reheated and eaten in no time. Both cost- and time-effective, freezing food is a robust food-preservation method with few drawbacks.

Tip: Do you live in an area that experiences frequent power cuts? If so, you should have a plan in place for what to do with your frozen items during outages. Though freezers can save you lots of money in the long run, power cuts can be incredibly costly, wiping out a freezer's entire stash of frozen goods in only a few hours.

Types of Freezers

Freezers are categorised by door option and capacity.

Best Freezer Door Options

Upright: Upright freezers resemble the built-in refrigerator freezers which you're probably already familiar with. With outward swinging doors, upright freezers can be placed under bars or worktops. These freezers do require free space in front of them to open properly. Accessing food in upright freezers is fairly simple; many have built-in shelves that allow you to organise and access food in different levels without too much difficulty reaching items at the back of the freezer.

Chest: Thanks to their liftable tops, chest freezers don't require as much floor space as upright freezers, though they do require some space over them so they can be opened. Many chest freezers are portable; some are rechargeable and others run on solar power. These freezer units can be a bit difficult to access and organise, as you would need to displace upper items to reach lower items. Overall, they're excellent for long-term freezing and can hold many tightly packed items because they don't have built-in shelves.

Drawers: Ultramodern in design and appearance, drawer freezers have multiple drawers that slide smoothly out for easy access and organisation. Like upright freezers, drawer freezers can be installed under a kitchen worktop or left as freestanding units. In accordance with their sleek, modern appearance, many drawer freezers have multiple settings and features that enhance their ease of use and versatility.

Best Freezer Capacities

As a general rule, 1 cu. ft. of freezer space can hold 35 – 40lbs of frozen food. If you tend to freeze oddly shaped food items or food items with bulkier packaging, your freezer's capacity will decrease. When shopping for a freezer, keep this rule in mind so you can purchase a freezer that can comfortably accommodate your frozen food.

Small/Compact: Small and compact freezers have capacities of up to 6 cu. ft., or up to 240lbs. of tightly packed frozen food. This is a common size for separate freezer units.

Midsize: Midsize freezers are less common than small and compact freezers. They can hold between 6 and 10 cu. ft. or 240 – 400lbs. of frozen food. Because they are larger, midsize freezers do require additional space in your home.

Best Freezer Features

Door options and capacities aren't the only characteristics to consider when shopping for a freezer. Many freezers are designed with additional features that improve their functionality.

Door Lock: Opting for a freezer with a door lock will ensure that little hands can't make their way inside to snatch ice cream without permission. It can also be an essential safety feature if you plan on storing alcoholic beverages or raw food products. Many lockable freezers also have alarms that go off when the freezer door has been opened or left open.

Automatic/Frost-Free: Though freezer burn and frost don't impact the nutritional value of frozen food, they can dramatically impact the texture, flavour and appearance of frozen food, rendering it pretty unappetising.

Frost-free freezers ensure constant airflow throughout the freezer, which cuts down on the likelihood frost will develop. Many frost-free freezers also have automatic defrost functions that melt and evaporate frost without raising the temperature of the freezer enough to damage the food.

Energy Star–Compliant: Energy Star–certified freezers use less energy than non-certified freezers and therefore are the best freezers on the market for energy efficiency. Adding a separate freezer to your home can negatively impact your home's energy efficiency, so choosing an Energy Star–certified freezer is the best way to ensure your home's energy usage doesn't skyrocket.

Sabbath Mode: Sabbath mode is a timer-controlled setting that disables many functions of a freezer in compliance with the rules of Sabbath and similar religious observances. Such functions include the internal lights, external displays, ice makers, and more.

Ice Maker: Most of us can agree that ice trays can be a nuisance – especially when someone forgets to refill them. With a freezer with a built-in ice maker, ice will always be available when you need it.

Tip: While you're here, why not take a look at our fridge buying guide?