Integrated columns are all refrigerator or freezer units. The big advantage is their shallowness, so you do not see any part of the refrigerator. The refrigerator becomes indistiguishable from the cabinet itself like these Thermador refrigerators.
Thermador integrated refrigerator display at Yale
The other part is their energy efficiency. The government has increased standards, so you will see more of these units in the future.
Miele
Miele is a German company that was founded in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann. Miele aims to manufacture the highest-quality domestic appliances and commercial equipment in the world. It has always been a family-owned, family-run company.
The company’s founding fathers motto was "Success is only possible in the long term if one is totally and utterly convinced of the quality of one's products". They are the most integrated appliance manufacturer, producing an astounding 96.8% of all their dishwasher components.
However, refrigeration is not their strong suit...
Thermador
Thermador is part of BSH Home Appliances Corporation, the third largest appliance manufacturer in the world. They have been providing cooking innovations for over 75 years. From the world’s first wall ovens to their patented star burner system that provides a greater amount of flame coverage than a round burner. Although they are known as a cooking company, they had the vision to build an integrated refrigeration plant about 10 years ago.
Gaggenau
The Gaggenau company was actually founded in 1683 as a hammer mill to make nails and other household goods. In 1873 they moved on to manufacture agricultural machinery, tools and other metal goods. During the industrial revolution they started making enamel advertising signs. This enamel was used in their coal and gas fired stoves in 1880 and is still being used in their wall ovens today. More recently, they were acquired by the BSH company who has reinvigorated the brand.
All three are high end companies known for products other than refrigeration, let's see how they compare.
Miele vs Gaggenau vs Thermador Integrated Columns
 |
VS |
 |
VS |
 |
|
Gaggenau RC472OV
|
|
Although these refrigerators look different, they are the same box. They are all manufacturered in the BSH plant in Turkey. There are differences. The Gaggenau is stainless on the inside, which of course adds almost $3,000 to the price.
Miele adds halogen lights and a better "MasterChef" crisper bin. For this reason, I like the Thermador. It is more reasonable and can be combined with other Thermador products for free dishwashers and hoods.
Additional Resources
Read the Yale Refrigerator Buyers Guide with complete information of refrigerators including integrated, professional and other counter depth products.
Why Should You Trust Us?
It seems that every appliance review has nothing but glowing comments about almost every product, yet you read customer reviews and they are almost universally bad.
We are here to fill in the disconnect. We'll give you the best features, and the drawbacks as well, including reliability based on over 37,000 calls performed by our service team just last year. Our goal is to give you ALL the information so you know what's right for you.
Please consider subscribing or adding to the conversation in the comments below. We appreciate you stopping by.
A Note About Pricing
Pricing on this blog is for reference only and may include time sensitive rebates. We make every attempt to provide accurate pricing at time of publishing. Please call the stores for most accurate price.
