Do You Need a Bigger Wine Cellar Refrigeration Unit? A Master Builder Will Help You.

Wine Cellar Refrigeration Units – Size Matters

Achieving the right climate in custom wine cellars requires the help of a professional who knows the right way to determine the correct size of climate control system for your wine storage facility. Having a wine cellar refrigeration unit that is too big for the space can actually be the cause of inefficiencies. The goal in a custom wine cellar is to create the ideal stable environment to allow proper aging of wine with the minimum use of energy to maintain it. Find out how Coastal Custom Wine Cellars selects the right wine cooling unit for your every project.

Know the Crucial Factors to Consider When Choosing a Wine Cellar Refrigeration Unit  

The role of a wine cellar refrigeration unit is very significant in achieving the optimum conditions essential for long-term storage. Keep in mind that installing a climate-control system that does not suit the size of your wine room will cause you to spend a hefty amount of money in the future. Therefore, it is best to consult with a wine cellar cooling specialist like Coastal Custom Wine Cellars Specialists.

A stable and efficient climate-controlled wine cellar is about a balance of factors: the proper insulation for the local climate, the location in the home, the right insulation correctly applied, the vapor barrier, and the seals in and out of the wine room, the material used in the construction of the walls and the lighting. These factors need to be balanced with the right size of the wine cellar refrigeration unit for the size of the room. 

• Local climate can vary dramatically depending upon where you are in the country. San Francisco, California, can be quite different from San Diego, California, New York, Maine, or Florida, which are further examples of places with extremely different climates. Most people do not realize the extent to which temperature varies in rooms in their homes in day–night cycles. Let alone variances in day-night cycles in the winter vs. the summer. 
• The location in the home of the wine cellar can make a lot of difference. Wine cellars that are in a basement surrounded by concrete may have quite different requirements to maintain a stable environment, as compared to a room, with two outside walls on the south face of the home. Likewise refrigerated wine cellars under the stairs may only be able to fit certain cooling unit sizes. 
  Insulation, therefore, can be a critical influence, and getting that just right can be a defining factor in the lifespan of a wine cellar’s refrigeration unit. Too little insulation or the wrong type of insulation can cause a wine cellar refrigeration system to run much more than necessary. We have seen many wine cellar cooling systems fail due to poor insulation. Poor insulation can be due to incorrect insulation of your ceiling, walls, or flooring.  

Correct Installation of Your Custom Wine Cellar Door Plays a Major Role in the Proper Functioning of Your Wine Refrigeration System

The size of the room is a more prominent factor. While generally larger rooms require larger systems, larger wine rooms also have a higher inertial temperature, meaning smaller rooms can fluctuate more readily than larger rooms. 

• The actual construction material of the walls and ceiling makes a huge difference. It is not unusual to have a whole glass wall in a wine cellar. In fact, this is often a desired feature in contemporary custom wine cellars. 
• Lighting gives off heat. Some wine cellars are designed to be lit even when no one is inside for display purposes. Our clients tend to be very proud of their wine cellar and want to show their collection off at every opportunity. Installing a wine cellar lighting system with low-heat emission is necessary for wine cellars. 
• Vapor barriers that are incorrectly installed or not installed at all can also be a critical factor in creating a stable environment. Air holds less water when it cools, so even a slight fluctuation in temperature can result in condensation. This too can be dramatically affected by the local climate, with some states being significantly more humid than other areas. Get this wrong, and condensation can form, causing mold, unpleasant smells, and mechanical problems. Even a small amount of moisture build-up can ruin the structural integrity of a wine cellar over time. 
• Wine Cellar Door Installation is another major factor that can contribute to a problematic and inefficient wine cellar refrigeration system. Essentially, a wine cellar door is an essential component of a refrigeration wine room that seals it completely. That is why we always recommend installing purpose-built custom wine cellar doors in climate-controlled wine cellars. The custom wine cellar doors that we manufacture are equipped with weather stripping and an automatic door bottom. The latter is a special mechanical device that drops into place on the bottom of the door when it is closed but retracts on opening to avoid the seal from failing and reduce wear and tear. 

Heat Load Calculation: a Vital Process in Building Refrigeration Wine Cellars  

Professional builders like Coastal Custom Wine Cellars always perform a heat load calculation when choosing a refrigeration unit for their clients. Whether it is a residential or commercial wine cellar, this process will help determine the right size and type of climate-control system for every project.

Performing this method will help us determine the proper BTU’s necessary for the space. Factors that affect the heat load calculation are the amount of glass in the wine cellar, insulation value installed, location and size of the wine room, and heat resources. The larger the room, the larger the wine cellar refrigeration unit should be and vice versa. 

Bottom line – Does Size Matter with Wine Cellar Refrigeration Units? 

Effective Wine Cellar Refrigeration Units Will Prevent Mold Growth

It is about balance not just size. The biggest mistake we see people make is in choosing to hire an inexperienced builder for their wine cellar to save a few bucks upfront. In the long term, they pay the price with issues of mold, wine cellar cooling units failing, and wine that has aged poorly due to continuously fluctuating temperatures. 

Be smart, work with a specialist in the construction of custom wine cellars. Use a Master Wine Cellar Builder when building your dream Custom Wine Cellar. 

If you need help with choosing a wine cellar refrigeration unit for your residential or commercial project, please call us at +1 (949) 200-8134!  

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