Wine Cooling Unit Performance

Wine Storage and Aging

How do wine cooling units differ from refrigerators and air conditioners?

Wine cooling units are designed to maintain consistent temperatures in a tight range, with minimal noise and vibration, and humidity in the range of 50-70 percent. Read more about proper wine storage and aging conditions.

CellarPro cooling systems are designed for long-term storing and aging of fine wine. Each CellarPro cooling unit:

• Maintains wine storage temperatures in a tight range with minimal stratification inside the cellar
• Allows users to increase and decrease the temperature AND relative humidity inside the cellar
• Provides ultra-quiet, vibration-free cooling power
• Is backed by the best warranty in the industry

Temperature Control

How do cooling units control temperatures inside the wine cellar?

Wine storage cooling units should maintain air temperatures inside the cellar with minimal variation and stratification. Temperature variations of +/-2°F around the set point generally result in liquid changes of less than half a degree. Stratification of 2-4°F from top to bottom are normal and within acceptable tolerances. Performance will vary depending on the ambient temperature and cellar size.

Most wine cellar cooling units are programmed to:

• turn on when the temperature inside the cellar rises above a certain point, and
• turn off when the temperature falls below a certain point.
• generally, this temperature range cannot be changed or customized for individual applications.

Some cooling units use bottle probes, and therefore cycle "on" and "off" based on changes in liquid (vs air) temperatures. In these cases, the on/off temperature range should be much tighter, because changes in liquid temperatures should be minimized.

CellarPro cooling units allow adjustments to the temperature range in addition to the set point, so cycle times, energy usage and temperatures inside the cellar can be optimized for individual applications.

Performance in Warm Environments

How does the ambient temperature affect the cooling unit's performance?

Below 80°F, most cooling units will cycle "on" and "off" while maintaining desired temperatures inside wine cellars, provided that the cellar is appropriately sized to match the cellar capacity.

Above 80°F, many "standard" cooling units will struggle to maintain desired temperatures, never cycling "off" or achieving the desired temperature. This results in high energy usage, low humidity inside the wine cellar and a shortened life for the cooling unit.

"Upgraded" cooling units offer extra cooling power to operate in warmer environments (up to 90°F); however, their noise levels generally are considered to be too loud for indoor residential use.

In 85°F environments, CellarPro cooling systems easily maintain 55°F and cycle on/off, while other cooling units struggle to reach 55°F and never turn off. Our cooling systems outperform the competition because we use oversized components, including a powerful compressor, extra-large coils and super-quiet powerful fans, to generate significant cooling power. View performance data.

Auto-Defrost

Why is auto-defrost important?

If ice collects on the evaporator coils in wine storage cooling units, moisture may enter "dry" areas of the cooling unit and/or drip into the cellar. Ice can also cause damage by fracturing the coils and restrict fans from turning freely.

CellarPro cooling units are designed to periodically measure the temperature of the evaporator coils and turn off the compressor until the temperature of the coils rise above freezing. This defrost cycle prevents ice from building up on the coils, and is designed to extend the life of the cooling unit.

Adjustable Humidity

How do cooling units achieve optimal humidity inside wine cellars?

Humidity in the range of 50-70% is ideal for proper wine storage and aging. Too much humidity can cause mold to grow on wine bottle labels, and too little humidity can cause corks to become brittle and crack.

Most cooling units promise to maintain humidity in the range of 50% to 70%, but test results indicate that they barely maintain humidity above 50%. Unfortunately, these cooling units do not offer the abilty to adjust the amount of humidity inside the cellar.

CellarPro wine cooling units allow users to increase or decrease relative humidity inside their wine cellars by changing settings on the control panel.

In an 85°F test-room with 34% average relative humidity, CellarPro maintained an average of 50% relative humidity inside the cellar at RH-0 (the lowest humidity setting). After increasing the humidity setting to RH-4, the average relative humidity increased to 64% inside the wine cellar.

Click here to view our adjustable humidity control performance. .