They are terribly noisy. One Garden Webber from back when we did iour remodel, 2002, got one and promptly returned it. He said,"Seemed like a good idea at the time."

We tried to do this but found that the commercial unit manufacturers pretty much as a rule will totally void the warranty if it's placed in a residential setting. I'd be interested to know if your experience will differ from this!

LOUD energy hogs with zero organizational aids. Just shelves on which you place your plastic bins of stuff. No produce drawers. No door bins. No meat drawers. Just shelves. And did I mention that the are LOUD!

I agree with everyone else here. The main part of it that they don't have a warranty when placed in a home. They will also be extremely hard to service once something goes wrong.

With Sub-Zero you'd be getting a good warranty and a company that'll back it up. I really like mine, I know they are $$$ though.

Northland might be something to look into if you're wanting more of a commercial look.

Thank you all for your input and insight. Definitely gives us some things to consider (sound, repair/warranty concerns, etc..)

@ jgopp: I fell in love with Northland refrigerators years ago! I would drool over them every time I walked by them at HomeDepot Expo. :) It was my research on Northland on how I found out about Marvel's full size refrigerators.

The thing that I love about commercial refrigerators is the depth. The 36" full size residential units (SZ, GE, etc.) all seem to be very shallow. And I would prefer all shelves as opposed to multiple crisper draws. I currently use lucite containers for storing condiments, yogurts and other various items. It's just easier for me to pull those boxes out when I need to serve or carry them to the table.

In regards to sound, I'm ignorant when it comes to refrigeration and such, but I've seen it mentioned where you can locate the compressor elsewhere. Could I potentially use a remote compressor in my basement? (we'll also have a utility room located not too far from the kitchen.)

"In regards to sound, I'm ignorant when it comes to refrigeration and such, but I've seen it mentioned where you can locate the compressor elsewhere. Could I potentially use a remote compressor in my basement? (we'll also have a utility room located not too far from the kitchen.)"

Determined to make this as inconvenient and expensive and complicated as possible, are we? ;-0

Stick with the tried and true and make your life a lot less complicated!

We have a True in our basement bar. While it is louder than any normal fridge, it is something you just get used to. However, I will say that we just had to have it repaired and it was a) waaayyyyy more costly than a residential fridge repair b) more inconvenient as regular appliance repair companies wouldn't touch it....something to think about.

@ sushipup: we're building an addition with a new kitchen, so right now, the commercial refrigerator/freezer option we're looking into (even with remote compressor/condenser) is considerably cheaper than what we have in the current plan. :)

And being that everything will be accessible, I don't think it's all that inconvenient...just different.

I love mine and I would buy it again in a heartbeat and I believe they are much more robust than residential models.

Anything that was designed to operate in the hot, greasy environment of a commercial kitchen and be opened and closed hundreds of times a shift while still maintaining proper storage temps is a winner in my book.

If anyone is out there listening who has any experience with Beverage Air commercial freezers, could you please tell me how noisy they are? We had a commercial grade freezer in our old house, in the pantry, and I never noticed it being particularly noisy. I loved the fact that it kept food much higher quality for a substantially longer time than a standard residential unit. Now that our house burned down in a forest fire, and we are rebuilding, I can't find a freezer like the one we had, and am considering a Beverage Air unit, but the one hesitation I have is the noise level. It will be in a large pantry area (large enough to avoid problems with heat), next to the kitchen, below the master bathroom. So if it's not terribly noisy, I don't think it would be an issue. But if it's really, really noisy, I wouldn't want it at all, anywhere. Anybody have any experience with these? Or a similar brand (like True)? It will be for use as a sort of backup unit, for larger amounts of freezer food, because we like to get a side of beef, and then I premake a lot of meals for our large family that I can then reheat through the year when things get too crazy to allow time to cook. Our main refrigerator/freezer will be in the kitchen, but we've always had a second unit in the pantry.

Johnliu wrote an excellent review of his commercial fridge, True brand.

True does sell some residential-market fridges that seem to be built as well as their commercial units but are quieter. Thus far, they only have undercounter models; a residential-grade version of their tall glass-door fridges would be nice.

Our hip, mod neighbors decided to go with restaurant furnishings in their kitchen, including three undercounter commercial fridges. Louder than heck and within a very short time, two of the three had failed and repair was so costly, they were used as cabinets for non-perishables.

I've always wanted a glass-door True fridge, but based on all the negatives noted here, I doubt I'll ever get one.

I’ve had a glass Georgia refrigerator for five years and I love it! I now have a house with a old subzero that needs to be replaced and I would get a commercial in a heartbeat but I would have to rebuild the cabinets I’m not sure what to do