There are a few theories on why the freezers don’t have a light but refrigerators have.
Theory 1: The cost-benefit principle.
The cost to install a light in the freezer would be the same as the cost to install it in the fridge.
But most people don’t open freezers nearly as much as they open refrigerators.
And very rarely is a freezer opened for browsing its contents – we often open the fridge and then decide what to take out, but with freezers, we mostly know what we are opening it for (desserts, ice, or some frozen ingredient we need for cooking).
So, the cost of adding a light in the freezer and thus making the appliance expensive for the consumer outweighs the benefit of light (food is easier to find).
This feature does exist in the high-end models of some non-mass-produced refrigerators, and so, those ready to pay extra can definitely get freezer units with lights in them.
Theory 2: Freezers are densely packed, so the light may not be effective thus leaving the customer dissatisfied.
Theory 3: Old models didn’t have it and no one complained and so manufacturers didn’t bother.
There was a time when automatic defrosting (removal of accumulated ice) wasn’t a feature in the freezers.
Without automatic defrosting, the ice crystals would build up inside the freezer, thanks to the humidity of the air, which got introduced whenever people opened freezers.
With ice gathered everywhere, things remained unclear even with the light (because ice accumulated on top of the light also), making the light pointless.
Automatic defrosting was introduced in the 1950s, but the tradition of not having a light in the freezer continued because of the cost-benefit principle.
