How to Buy a Wine Cellar Cooling System
If you own a respectable collection of wine, it's important that you store it properly. If you keep wine in a warm, dry environment, the wine will sour and eventually evaporate (since the corks will lose their shape). Buy a wine cellar cooling system to help your favorite vintages age perfectly. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Calculate the total dimensions of your wine cellar. At its simplest, this can be accomplished by multiplying the length, width and height of the wine cellar to determine its total volume. If the room is irregularly shaped, round up or make an educated estimate. Just be sure to round up instead of down, so that you'll end up with too much instead of too little coverage if you miscalculate.
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Determine how much power your cooling system will need to properly control the climate in your wine cellar. If your wine cellar is already fairly cool (between 60 and 70 degrees), then you don't need as much cooling power as you would if your wine cellar was in the pantry or the kitchen.
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Measure the ambient humidity in your wine cellar. An electric barometer can give you a fairly accurate reading. Determine from those readings how much humidity you need your cooling system to add to the wine cellar's existing atmosphere to give the wine full protection.
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Invest in a wine cooling system that can be installed in a location other than the cellar itself. Cooling systems can be noisy when they are in operation, so having a cooling system that can be installed up to 50 feet away can help maintain the quiet, sophisticated atmosphere you want for your wine cellar.
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Shop around using an online pricing website like Nextag.com (see Resources below). You'll be able to see price ranges, estimate your total costs and even find contractors who can install the cooling system for you.
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Tips & Warnings
Consider building your wine cellar in the basement or the lowest point in your home. Cold air and humidity generally collect in the lower levels of the home.
Depending on the size of the cooling system you buy, you could see a marked increase in your utilities costs. If you have a smaller wine cellar, you can buy a modest cooling system that won't create such a noticeable impact.
