Wine Cellar Construction Requirements | Wine Cooler Sizing | Comparison Chart

Wine Coolers

Anyone who provides a cooling system proposal for your wine cellar based
solely on room dimensions is not providing you a professional service.

Things that you must consider for the protection of your wine are: Constant temperature, adequate humidity, absence of strong light, and absence of any vibration.
 

Calculate the room volume
Measure the height, width and depth of your room and multiply each measurement to determine the cubic footage of wine cellar. If the room is not a rectangle, you will need to use geometry for your calculations. If your calculation results are between two sizes, always round up to the larger unit size. As a general rule, always overestimate rather than underestimate capacity.

Differentiate between inside/outside walls and glass doors/windows
When figuring the calculations of your cellar space, it is important to take note of the locations of the walls, floors, and ceiling in respect to the building that the cellar will be a part of. You will want to do a simple sketch to get a clear understanding of surrounding space. First, you will need to note whether walls are inside walls or outside walls. Second, you will further want to specify whether any walls have direct exposure to sunlight. Third, you will want to specify whether there is any glass (must be thermopane glass) in the door or windows on interior or exterior walls.

Calculate heat load
(Unit Size = Room Volume + Heat Load) Heat load calculations provide information about the amount of heat introduced into the wine cellar by infiltration through the walls, the wine, the frequency of entry, mechanical sources (like lights) and humans. All this information will determine the heat load. If you have no glass, and insulate/weather strip your room properly, your heat load would equal zero. If you have glass and/or less than adequate insulation, or in very hot climates, you need to increase the unit size (BTUH) to compensate.

Insulate, weather stripping, glass
Inside walls and floors need a minimum of R11 insulation. Outside walls need a minimum or R19 (R30 with direct sunlight). An inside ceiling needs a minimum of R19 insulation (outside ceiling R30). Place the vapor barriers on the HOT side of the insulation. Doors need to be exterior grade, and if there is glass in the door, it must be double-pane insulated glass. If the wine cellar is located in a hot climate, round up to the next size R-value. Always overestimate, never underestimate. Windows and doors need to be tightly sealed with weather stripping to prevent air leakage. Check under the door to make sure that no air is leaking from seal outlets, switches, pipes, vents, and other possible air leakage areas.