Bottom Mount Fridges

In a Bottom Mount fridge, you’ll find the freezer below the fridge – quick and convenient if you open your fridge more than your freezer door because everyday essentials and fresh produce are easily accessible without having to bend down for them.

Ideal for small-to-medium households that may not require lots of space but one that is organised, Bottom Mount fridges often come with flexible storage solutions like adjustable fridge shelves and door bins as well as dedicated compartments like the MultiZone Deli drawer in some Electrolux fridges or Haier’s MyZone Adjustable Temperature drawer for neat storage of various food and drink.

Some models take flexibility up a notch with shelves that fold back to cater for bulky items like the Triple Foldable Shelf in some Samsung Bottom Mount fridges or the Two-step folding shelf in LG fridges. Bottom Mount freezers are commonly found with pull-out trays or baskets - perfect for those smaller items that tend to get lost.

The main difference is in the configuration – where the freezer is below the fridge in Bottom Mount, the exact opposite is true for Top Mount. The freezers are also different: Bottom Mount have trays or baskets while Top Mount freezers have one wide compartment for stacking frozen goods.

Next is flexibility. As we’ve just learnt, Bottom Mount fridges often have robust solutions for storing different items, while Top Mount fridges tend not to. While dedicated storage compartments can be seen in Top Mount, these, including a FamilySafe lockable compartment in some Westinghouse fridges, are more common in Bottom Mount.

Then there are settings exclusive to Bottom Mount like ‘Fast Freeze’ in Fisher & Paykel fridges, or ‘Super Freeze’ or ‘Super Cool’ in Hisense fridges to get the temp right before heading out on a big grocery shop. Humidity Controlled crisper drawers are seen more in Bottom Mount which is another reason why they can be more expensive than Top Mount fridges.

If you access your fridge more than your freezer than a Bottom Mount fridge could be the fridge for you; everything can be seen and retrieved easily saving you valuable time (no more bending down to sift through the fruit and veg crisper drawer). Bottom Mount fridges range from around a 300-litre usable capacity for households of 1-2 to just under 500 litres for a slightly larger home.

When organisation matters, many Bottom Mount fridges offer the solutions needed to keep fresh and frozen goods in neat working order. Despite the freezer being below the fridge, freezers in Bottom Mount can make for a stress-free kitchen with some having clear drawers so you always know what’s inside.

Other common features of Bottom Mount include spill-proof shelves with edges to contain accidental spills, non-plumbed water dispensers, special cooling systems to optimally store fresh and frozen foods, and a range of styles for every home from classic stainless steel through to retro.

Compared to their larger size counterparts in the French Door or Side-by-Side variety, Bottom Mount fridges often have lower running costs due to their smaller usable litre capacities. Increasingly, the market is seeing Bottom Mount fridges with a 4.5 to 5-Star Energy Rating thanks to more and more sophisticated technologies and motors from the likes of LG or Electrolux Bottom Mount fridges.

Remember it’s worth keeping an eye out for the Energy Rating when comparing models of a similar usable capacity to help you understand if the Bottom Mount fridge you’re eyeing off will fare well on the energy consumption front. Remember that the higher the Energy Rating, the less electricity your fridge will consume to run 24/7.

To avoid any surprises, it’s a good idea to estimate the average annual running cost. For an estimate, the Australian Government’s Energy Rating site says to multiply the kilowatt hours (kWh) noted on the energy label by the cost of electricity in your area.