I’m not sure about -15C but don’t operate a freezer at -15K as it violate the fundamental laws of thermodynamics.

The one problem I can think of is it might get so cold that the compressor motor is frozen solid, can’t start and ends up damaging itself.

But the compressor shouldn’t be running if it’s that cold, except maybe due to a defrost cycle but IDK if chest freezers do that or just normal fridges.

It depends on the freezer. Some are “garage rated”, so they are designed to operate in a greater temperature range, while normally, they should only be used at room temp (plus and minus reasonable swings). Check your manual to see if it gives an operating range. I suspect that the more important factor is when it’s too hot outside for the level of insulation and compressor to keep up with, but too cold could be a problem

I could connect a smart plug and disconnect it if below -15, if that would help

If you didn’t know already, many smart plugs are not rated for the amount of power that fridges and other compressor based appliances. They can overlosd the plugs and cause failures or fires. Also shutting off a compressor mid cycle increases the wear.

I was a little curious myself, so I found an article about it.

I admit that I don’t know exactly how a freezer works, but my impression is that the cold temperatures not only make it more difficult for the freezer to run, but apparently regardless of if it’s running they can damage the insulation.

So I suppose that even if you do disconnect the power, the damage to the insulation will cause more work for the compressor, which will increase its energy costs and cause more strain for the part.

Knowing that, if it was me, I’d probably bring the freezer in for the winter. Although I suppose if you want to keep your food on your balcony you could swap the freezer for any insulated cooler. The winter is pretty long here though, so I guess I’d just find a more permanent home for the freezer if I could

operating temperatures down to -15C

I would personally triple check to make sure this means what you think it means.

Assuming it does, you should be in the clear. Cutting the power when it gets colder is probably not necessary since the freezer won’t have any reason to run, but it might be a worthwhile precaution anyway. If for some reason the compressor does try to run with frozen oil, it might damage itself or try to draw too much power and blow a breaker (or start a fire if your wiring is sketchy). Better to be on the safe side.

I have a chest freezer that has operating temperatures down to -15C.

Are we talking about the temperatures the freezer is freezing things down to, or the temperatures the freezer’s components are able to run at? Because those are two very different metrics and if it is the former, then that does not mean that the freezer’s components can handle those temperatures themselves.

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Pretty sure my fridge freeze combo, with freezer on the bottom had a freezer temp defaulted to -18. So maybe it’s within operating parameters?

Wont your pipes freeze?