Why can’t standard commercial refrigeration coils be used for wine cellar applications?
Commercial refrigeration equipment is used commonly for wine cellars but it is equipment that was designed with other design criteria in mind. The noise level and aesthetics of commercial equipment are purely function driven. Competitive forces in the commercial refrigeration market encourage a minimal price and the consequent design corner cutting. A coil designed for a wine cellar should have a larger, slower speed fan to reduce air velocity noise and a substantially larger area of coil surface to reduce the dehumidification effect. The common space constraints in upscale residential and commercial wine cellars limits physical dimensions of the coils. Essentially, it’s a case of using the right tool for the job. Wine cellar equipment ideally should be sized in such a manner as to remove as little moisture (latent heat) as possible and as a result oversizing of equipment is more an economic issue rather than an operational issue. If ¼ hp equipment is required, ½ hp equipment will simp
