Liquid Temperature vs. Air Temperature – Wine Cellar Cooling

Liquid Temperature vs. Air Temperature when Choosing a Wine Cellar Cooling Unit

Custom Wine Cellar Climate Control Systems or Wine Cellar Cooling Units have two different ways to measure temperature. Some systems measure the temperature using a probe that measures the air temperature of the wine room. Other types of systems use a probe that is placed into a wine bottle of water that measures the liquid temperature of your wine.

A Wine Cellar Refrigeration System that measures air temperature is usually factory set at 55 degrees. When the air temperature reaches 55 degrees, the unit will shut off until the air temperature reaches 60 degrees. At this time the unit will start up again to cool the room. The air temperature will, therefore, tend to fluctuate between the 55 and 60-degree temperature. This is the temperature that will show up on the digital control. The liquid temperature of the wine that is in this room, however, does not necessarily fluctuate to this same air temperature degree. The wine will be close to 57 degrees… this is the ideal temperature for wine storage.

Wine Temperature Liquid Variation, Wine Cellar Cooling Stability

Liquids do not warm-up or cool off as quickly as the air. With a 5-degree air temperature fluctuation, the liquid temperature of the wine should only change by less than 1/2 of 1 degree. Some of these units come with digital control that is mounted on the unit. Others have a separate digital control that can be placed anywhere inside the cellar or mounted in the wall outside the cellar door.

Measuring Liquid Temperature, Bottle Probes & Wine Cellar Refrigeration Stability

A system that measures liquid temperature has a “bottle probe” that is inserted into the top of a bottle of liquid, usually water, and placed inside the wine cellar. The probe is attached to the wine cooling unit. This probe will then measure the temperature of the liquid inside the bottle and show that reading on digital control.

This unit is also set at the factory to 55 degrees. However, it is measuring the liquid temperature. When the liquid temperature reaches 55.4 degrees, the cooling unit goes on. When the liquid temperature reaches 55 degrees, the cooling unit turns off. Therefore, your liquid temperature will be averaging 55.2 degrees with fluctuation of less than ½ of 1 degree. The air temperature in the room will have a greater fluctuation of temperature.

The digital control on an air temperature unit will show a greater fluctuation in temperature than the digital control on a liquid temperature unit. However, with either unit, your liquid wine temperature will not vary more than ½ of 1 degree. It is simply a matter of choice whether you want to see the air temperature or the temperature of your wine on your digital control or temperature readout.

In our opinion, either option is fine, both do the job. I would advise you to make your choice on which type of cooling system to use based on what will work best for your cellar conditions instead of on the type of temperature measurement that is used.

More Important than the measurement system – Wine Cellar Climate Control

Factors such as having the right insulation, a wine room refrigeration system that is reliable and up to the square footage of the wine room and a properly fitting and sealed custom wine cellar door are much more critical to the longevity and stability of your wine cellar. Not to mention the proper ageing of your wine collection!

Don’t forget Humidity! The humidity of your wine cellar can be a big factor in choosing your Wine Cellar Cooling System Humidity!

Questions About Wine Cellar Cooling and Refrigeration Systems?

For help to determine which type of wine cellar cooling units will work best for you and for a free heat load calculation to determine the correct size of the unit to use, based on your variable conditions, call Wine Cellar Specialists at 972-454-0480.