In August, Samsung released what it called the most spacious refrigerator on the market: a 70-inch-tall, 36-inch-wide “mega capacity” model with 32 cubic feet of usable space.
Compare that with the squat 1928 General Electric Monitor Top, among the earliest models affordable to consumers. At just 64 inches tall and 22 inches wide, it had seven cubic feet of space for food and drinks.
Americans constantly want more, so it’s little surprise that refrigerators have grown nearly every year since 1980, when the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) began keeping track. In 1980, the average capacity was 19.6 cubic feet of storage; by 2021, the most recent year with published data, it was 25.8 cubic feet.
In 2017, research showed that American kitchens were primarily designed for refrigerators that were 30 to 33 inches wide. “Now, I think 36 is probably the most popular width opening in the U.S.,” said Jason May, who works in refrigerator engineering and product management at GE Appliances. They’re also growing taller — 70 inches or more in many cases.
New technology has helped manufacturers fine-tune their designs and maximize space, Mr. May said. His team might use virtual reality to see how a milk carton fits into a door pocket, or use 3-D printing to test what happens when you shrink the rails that help a crisper drawer glide into place.
Refrigerator insulation is also thinner and more efficient than it was in previous generations, said Olivia Edmundson, a director of product marketing for JennAir.
But while newer models have more interior space than their ancestors, they cost far less to run. Hyesoon Yang, an executive vice president at Samsung, said that over the past 50 years, manufacturers have been able to reduce refrigerator power consumption by 80 percent.
And yet, fridges still are not big enough for most Americans. In a recent National Kitchen and Bath Association poll of home designers, builders and retailers, 72 percent of respondents said their clients want more space for their groceries.
The Big Chill
The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers tracked the average capacity of American refrigerators between 1980 and 2021. Below, incremental changes since 1990.
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