cooling Archives - CellarCool®

Cellar Humidity & Condensate

admin — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 12:07:06 +0000

Some of our clients are unaware of why their cooling system will produce water condensate through the drain line.

This water is a byproduct of your cooling system stripping excess humidity from the air inside your cellar. This feature was added to protect your collection from the side effects of long-term storage in a high humidity environment.

How CellarCool Systems Manage Cellar Humidity.

The key difference between CellarCool systems and traditional air conditioner units is the maintenance of well-conditioned humidity. Regular air conditioning units are designed to cool as quickly as possible. As a result, humidity is removed below acceptable wine storage levels. CellarCool achieves optimal results by gently cooling the air within your cellar at a slower rate, thus maintaining optimal humidity levels for the long-term storage of fine wines.

Producing Too Much Water?

If you are experiencing abnormally high volumes of water dispensing from your system’s drain line, your cellar is more than likely suffering from improper vapor barrier applications.

In high humidity areas (75%-90% relative humidity) of the country, moisture will frequently travel through the walls (especially in underground applications where materials like concrete or cinderblock are used) and enter the cellar. When creating your wine storage area, it is crucial to research your area’s climate to identify potential areas of concern. We suggest maintaining humidity levels near 55% since higher humidity levels can contradict the cooling process and make it harder to maintain temperature.

What Can You Do To Prepare Your Cellar For Humidity?

Vapor Barrier –

When building your cellar, a vapor barrier is necessary for the efficient cooling of the cellar environment. The barrier acts as a defense to unwanted moisture coming in or escaping out of your wine cellar environment.

Sealing Your Cellar –

Properly sealing your cellar environment will prevent unwanted humidity from leaking into your cellar and causing your unit to expend more of its capacity to work to strip this excess moisture. Areas of concern are as follows: doors, wall joints, and the cellar’s flooring, & ceiling sealing seal. These areas should all be properly sealed with recommended materials.

An Important Note To Keep In Mind.

When a cooling unit strips excess humidity out of the air within the cellar, it is using a percentage of its overall capacity to do that. For example, if your system was rated to run 50% of the time to cool the heat load of the cellar, it will use an additional 10%-20% of its capacity to work to strip the unwanted humidity from the air, when proper humidity prevention methods are not taken. This is extremely important to note when pertaining to the runtime of your system and the amount of liquid drainage from your cooling system.

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Extending Cooling System Longevity: Unit Runtime

admin — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 11:18:05 +0000

Selecting the proper system based on the recommended BTU rating for runtime will have by far the most significant effect on your cooling system’s longevity. Unlike any other appliance you may own, your cellar cooling system will operate regularly throughout the day. These cooling cycles are necessary to keep your wine at the optimal storage temperature.

Putting It Into Perspective.

Your Cellar Is Like A Walk-In Fridge –

When you build a wine cellar, it is like building a walk-in refrigerator. The cooling unit will operate as needed based on the amount of heat that leaks into the cellar’s surroundings. Unlike your home’s fridge, the area required to cool your wine cellar has a much higher volume and is often not appropriately insulated or sealed.

Operates More Than Typical Appliance –

Typical household appliances, such as microwaves and water heaters, are used for a fraction of an hour or minute per day and only operate a few hours in total a week. In comparison, wine cooling units continuously operate to cool and monitor cellar conditions. Like an industrial walk-in refrigerator, each time a door opens, a cooling cycle will start to compensate for the hot air seeping into the cellar. Therefore, while a typical household appliance would not require much, if any, maintenance. A wine cooling unit, on the other hand, that operates for a more extended period would require some level of maintenance down the line to ensure optimal performance.

Operates More Than Typical Appliance –

Sizing Your System For Desired Runtime.

Before the purchase, to ensure the longevity of your cooling system, you must choose the appropriate system BTU runtime rating for your unique cellar environment. For example, by selecting a system with a 25% runtime rating in your environment, you can expect your unit to last 300% longer than if you were to choose a system with a 75% rating.

Think of your unit like a car.

Instead of comparing your wine cooling system to a typical household appliance think of it like a car. Much like a car, a wine cellar cooling system operates on a daily basis and should follow a maintenance schedule. After such consistent use, parts maintenance is often required to keep the car (or cooling unit) running in top shape. For example, after a vehicle reaches the 3,000 miles, it will require an oil change. At the 60,000-mile mark, parts maintenance is often necessary to inspect and sometimes replace the car’s brake pads, or air filters. Like a car, after a cooling unit consistently operates for 20,000 hours (about five years), parts maintenance is also often required to inspect and sometimes replace some system components. Make sure your system is set up for success. Oversizing your cooling system will put less stress on the unit and, therefore, reduce the need for system maintenance.

What Else Can I Do?

Understanding all of the various components that factor into the performance of a cooling system will help you make an informed decision when selecting the proper cooling system for your cellar environment. Learn more about these factors and building an efficient cellar environment by watching our “How to build a wine cellar” video on youtube. You can also check out our website for more great wine cellar resources.

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NEW PRODUCT RELEASE – Ultimate Plus Series

admin — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 06:00:36 +0000

The CellarCool Ultimate Plus –

The Ultimate Plus Series is a large, self-contained, fully ducted unit. A Self-contained system means that the two essential parts of a wine cellar cooling unit—the evaporator unit and the condensing unit—share a single housing. (Split systems, on the other hand, separate the condensing unit and evaporator unit.) Many self-contained units mount through a wall, with the evaporator side venting cool air into the wine cellar and the condenser side venting hot exhaust air into an adjacent room such as a utility room.

The Ultimate Plus, on the other hand, is also fully ducted. Fully ducted units do not mount inside the cellar. They can be mounted anywhere within 25 duct feet of the cellar. The cool evaporator air will be ducted into the cellar, and the hot exhaust air from the condenser will be ducted elsewhere, usually outside via exterior vents.

Features of the CellarCool Ultimate Plus Series

The first and most obvious benefit of a fully ducted self-contained unit is the ducting options. The Ultimate Plus Series is unique, as technicians can run the ducting from the top or side of these units.

Other features of the Ultimate Plus unit includes:

– Remote KDT Plus controller: This flat-panel digital control mounts outside the cellar, allowing you to monitor the temperature of your cellar and control your Ultimate Plus cooling unit without needing to step inside.

– Compatibility with 24-volt thermostat conversion kit: Our 24-volt conversion kit is available as an add-on at the time of purchase with Ultimate Plus units. This kit replaces the Ultimate Plus Series bottle probe and KDT Plus controller. The customer will need to select and purchase a 24-volt thermostat of their choice to control their unit. A smart thermostat such as Nest, Ecobee, or Honeywell may be selected.

– Corrosion-resistant drip tray: Ultimate Plus Series units have stainless steel drip trays that resist corrosion. Pan tabs are also available on select units to prevent the build-up of microbial growth and mold.

Benefits of Fully Ducted Self-Contained Units

The main advantage of fully ducted self-contained wine cellar cooling systems is flexibility. These units offer more flexible installation options than non-ducted self-contained units. If you have limited cellar space and require a powerful cooling unit, the Ultimate Plus is an excellent choice. The Ultimate Plus unit works well when installed in an attic or an adjacent utility room. From there, ducts carry the cool air into the room. Ducts also move the hot exhaust air to a safe location. The Ultimate Plus Series’ blower orientations ensure that your installing technician will have numerous installation options.

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