In higher end kitchens, wet bars and butler’s pantries, under counter ice makers are a nice addition. These appliances are great for entertaining and useful for packing a cooler to take on a road trip or picnic.
Under counter ice makers are the same height as a dishwasher - approximately 34 inches tall - but are usually narrower than a dishwasher at around 15 inches wide and are 24 inches deep to fit flush with other surrounding base cabinets.
With the typical sized residential, under counter ice maker, you can make 50 lbs of ice per day and store 25 lbs of ice at any given time. However, these units are not freezers, which means that ice is constantly melting and being renewed, consuming energy. The energy consumption of one of these ice makers is about 5-6 kWh per 50 lbs, which equates to around .50 to .75 cents per day in power. As always, look for an Energy Star appliance and check the model’s specs before buying.