The Reason Your Freezer Doesn't Have A Light

Those who spend time shopping for groceries, carefully putting them away in the pantry, fridge, and freezer (and eventually often doing the cooking later, too), might have noticed that there seems to be less light — if any at all — in the freezer. Many freezers, especially ones that are less costly, tend not to have a light in this smaller compartment, even though there are usually lights in the fridge section. There are a number of theories as to why this inequality is so.

The first, and quite a logical reason at that, is that people tend to stock up and store more things in their freezers, according to Today I Found Out. With far more boxes and containers filling up the space in the freezer, there is less of a need for a light because it is so often hidden by everything being stored there. Another reasonable point provided is that ice can quickly build up and partially, if not fully, block the light in the freezer. That means a freezer light would oftentimes be rendered pointless. But that still isn't the primary reason freezers tend to be light-less.

According to Mental Floss, the value that customers place on a light in the freezer is so small that the manufacturers actually lose money by including lights as a feature in the freezer. Ultimately, consumers tend to spend more time using and looking for items placed in the fridge rather than the freezer section. That means the advantage of a freezer light is so small to consumers, they largely don't care if it is there or not.

However, if you are someone who does want a light in the freezer, there are still certain models and options available on the market today. As Cornell professor Robert H. Frank once explained, it's a matter of cost-benefit and how different consumers may value this particular convenience. He wrote, "The cost-benefit principle thus predicts that consumers with extremely high incomes might think a light in the freezer well worth the extra cost" (via PBS NewsHour). Some stand-alone freezers also include lights because they are like storage units that might need to be sorted through to find the right item.