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The warm side of a through-the-wall wine cellar cooling unit seen from a spacious finished basement room, a plain louvered exhaust grille set high in a painted wall with open floor space in front of it, a glimpse through a partly open cellar door of racks holding bottles.

Installation and setup

Where the Exhaust Heat Goes: The Room Behind a Cellar Cooling Unit

Wine cellar cooling unit exhaust runs at roughly 90°F to 100°F by WhisperKool's figures, and it needs a large, ventilated space with at least 3 feet clear in front of the grille. Closets, laundry rooms, bathrooms, garages and attics are the usual mistakes. If the receiving room stays at 78°F or warmer, a ducted or split system is the better answer.

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At a
glance.

Every degree taken out of the cellar is pushed into another space, along with the heat of the compressor that moved it. Where that space is, how big it is and how warm it gets decides whether the unit cools the room or slowly cooks itself.

Read the whole guide

Exhaust air temperatureAbout 90°F to 100°F

WhisperKool's figure for the warm side of a running unit.

Clear space in front of the grilleAt least 3 feet

Breezaire, for its through-the-wall units.

When the receiving room is too warm78°F or more, most of the time

WhisperKool points to a high-ambient unit or a split system.

Lost capacityWhen the surroundings run 25°F above the cellar

Breezaire: the unit then delivers less than its rated output.

The heat taken out of the cellar lands somewhere

A cooling unit does not destroy heat; it moves it. The warm side of a self-contained unit blows out the heat from the cellar plus the heat of its own compressor and fans, and WhisperKool gives exhaust air temperatures of 90°F to 100°F as normal. Breezaire's instructions put it in one line: where the warm air goes matters just as much as where the unit sits inside the cellar.

That warm air has to be carried away by the room it lands in. If it is not, the unit starts drawing its own exhaust back across the condenser, the refrigerant cannot shed heat, and the cellar warms even though the machine is running flat out.

Source: WhisperKool — Frequently Asked Questions — Exhaust air commonly 90°F to 100°F; do not vent into a small room or closet; consider a high-ambient unit or split system above 78°F; ducted units up to 25 feet away; split and ducted systems installed by an HVAC-R technician; condenser filters; ducted and split systems are quieter; Breezaire — WKL Series Installation Instructions — Exhaust location matters as much as the cellar side; 3 feet unobstructed and a ventilated space; unsuitable exhaust spaces listed; reduced output above a 25°F difference; no ductwork; grille attached with no gap; shuts off near 75°F and restarts near 65°F; clean the condenser every 3 months; primer-only grille; consult the building inspector for fire-rated walls

What makes a good receiving room

Breezaire asks for at least 3 feet of unobstructed space in front of the exhaust grille and a receiving area that is well ventilated. It names the spaces that fail: unventilated laundry rooms, closets, bathrooms, garages, crawl spaces, attics and humid basements. WhisperKool also advises against venting into a small room or closet and suggests ducting the exhaust to a larger space when the nearest one is too small.

Temperature matters as much as size. Breezaire notes that its units give less than their rated output once the surroundings run more than 25°F above the cellar, and WhisperKool recommends a high-ambient unit or a split system when the exhaust space stays at 78°F or warmer.

  • Good: a large finished basement room or a family room that is air-conditioned.
  • Workable with care: a mechanical room with its own ventilation and nothing stacked near the grille.
  • Poor: a closet, a laundry room, a bathroom or a small storage room with the door shut.
  • Wrong: an attic, a crawl space, an unventilated garage or a damp basement.

Source: WhisperKool — Frequently Asked Questions — Exhaust air commonly 90°F to 100°F; do not vent into a small room or closet; consider a high-ambient unit or split system above 78°F; ducted units up to 25 feet away; split and ducted systems installed by an HVAC-R technician; condenser filters; ducted and split systems are quieter; Breezaire — WKL Series Installation Instructions — Exhaust location matters as much as the cellar side; 3 feet unobstructed and a ventilated space; unsuitable exhaust spaces listed; reduced output above a 25°F difference; no ductwork; grille attached with no gap; shuts off near 75°F and restarts near 65°F; clean the condenser every 3 months; primer-only grille; consult the building inspector for fire-rated walls

Close on the exhaust grille of a through-the-wall cellar cooling unit opening into a spacious ventilated utility room, nothing blocking it.
Close on the exhaust grille of a through-the-wall cellar cooling unit opening into a spacious ventilated utility room, nothing blocking it.

How each kind of system disposes of its heat

The four kinds of cellar cooling differ mostly in where they put the warm side, which is why the receiving room is often what decides between them.

Through-the-wall units exhale into the next room

WhisperKool describes self-contained units that mount between wall studs, one end cooling the cellar and the other exhausting into the adjacent space. Breezaire's are not designed for ductwork on either side, and its instructions ask for the exhaust grille to be fastened directly against the warm side with no gap, because the unit does not work properly without it.

Ducted units send it farther

A fully ducted system moves supply and return air through ducts, and WhisperKool says the unit can typically sit up to 25 feet from the cellar. That lets the warm side live in a ventilated mechanical room while the cellar sees only two grilles.

Split systems put it outdoors

A split system keeps only the evaporator in or next to the cellar and sends the heat through a refrigerant line set to a condensing unit outdoors or in a garage. Setting one up means opening and charging a refrigerant circuit; EPA rules under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act require the technicians who do that work to hold certification, and WhisperKool requires split and ducted configurations to be installed by an HVAC-R technician.

What happens when the heat cannot escape

Breezaire warns that if airflow into or out of the warm side is blocked, the unit can end up heating the cellar instead of cooling it. Its Sentry III controller guards against this by switching the unit off when the cellar reaches about 75°F and holding it off until the room falls back to about 65°F or the power is cycled.

Dust does the same thing more slowly. Breezaire asks for the condenser coil behind the exhaust grille to be inspected and vacuumed every 3 months, and says a coil blocked badly enough to overheat the unit can end in a failure its coverage does not include. WhisperKool fits filters on some condenser coils for the same reason.

Source: WhisperKool — Frequently Asked Questions — Exhaust air commonly 90°F to 100°F; do not vent into a small room or closet; consider a high-ambient unit or split system above 78°F; ducted units up to 25 feet away; split and ducted systems installed by an HVAC-R technician; condenser filters; ducted and split systems are quieter; Breezaire — WKL Series Installation Instructions — Exhaust location matters as much as the cellar side; 3 feet unobstructed and a ventilated space; unsuitable exhaust spaces listed; reduced output above a 25°F difference; no ductwork; grille attached with no gap; shuts off near 75°F and restarts near 65°F; clean the condenser every 3 months; primer-only grille; consult the building inspector for fire-rated walls

Noise, warmth and the people in the next room

Breezaire reminds buyers that a cellar unit is a mechanical machine: it makes noise and it produces heat on the warm side. A home office or guest room on the exhaust side gets both, which is why WhisperKool points owners who care about quiet toward ducted and split systems.

Two building points come up often on this side of the wall. Breezaire's grille arrives in primer only and needs proper paint if it faces the weather, and its units should not go into a fire-rated wall without checking with the local building inspector first.

  • Keep furniture, boxes and curtains at least 3 feet from the grille.
  • Do not close the receiving room's door on a unit that has nowhere else to breathe.
  • Paint an exterior-facing grille with a suitable outdoor coating.
  • Ask the building inspector before cutting into a fire-rated wall.

Source: WhisperKool — Frequently Asked Questions — Exhaust air commonly 90°F to 100°F; do not vent into a small room or closet; consider a high-ambient unit or split system above 78°F; ducted units up to 25 feet away; split and ducted systems installed by an HVAC-R technician; condenser filters; ducted and split systems are quieter; Breezaire — WKL Series Installation Instructions — Exhaust location matters as much as the cellar side; 3 feet unobstructed and a ventilated space; unsuitable exhaust spaces listed; reduced output above a 25°F difference; no ductwork; grille attached with no gap; shuts off near 75°F and restarts near 65°F; clean the condenser every 3 months; primer-only grille; consult the building inspector for fire-rated walls

Step
by step.

Four steps, in the order worth doing them.

01

Feel the warm side

With the unit running, the air from the upper part of the exhaust grille should be clearly warm; Breezaire treats that as a sign the unit is working.

02

Compare the cold side

Breezaire expects air leaving the upper cellar-side grille to be at least 6°F colder than the air entering below it.

03

Measure the receiving room

Leave a thermometer near the exhaust grille for a warm afternoon; a room that sits at 78°F or more is a design problem, not a setting.

04

Clear the path

Move anything within 3 feet of the grille and open the receiving room's door or vent if it has been closed.

A couple lifting a bottle from a lit stone-walled wine cellar, the cooling unit's grille high on the far wall
For the heart of your home.

Questions
owners ask.

Can the wine cellar cooling unit exhaust go into a closet if I leave the door open?
An open door helps, but a closet is still one of the spaces Breezaire and WhisperKool both advise against. If the closet is the only option, ducting the exhaust to a larger space or choosing a ducted or split system is safer.
Why does the room behind my cellar feel so warm?
Because it is receiving all the heat pulled out of the cellar plus the unit's own heat, at around 90°F to 100°F at the grille. That is normal; the question is whether the room can get rid of it.
Can I vent the warm side into the garage?
Breezaire lists garages among the wrong spaces for its through-the-wall units. A split system with its condensing unit in a ventilated garage, or a unit designed for high surroundings, is the usual way to use one.
Does a split system still send heat into the house?
Very little. The evaporator in the cellar only moves heat into the line set; the condensing unit outdoors or in a garage releases it.

The problems
behind it.

Each has a page of its own: what it usually means and the causes in the order worth checking.

All 17 problems
A narrow storage closet with its door wide open, the louvered exhaust grille of a through-the-wall cellar cooling unit set into its back wall, stacked cardboard boxes pressed close in front of the grille and a faint heat shimmer in the air. Problem

Cellar Cooling Unit Exhaust Overheating

5 causes, cheapest first

 A small stone-walled wine cellar with dark wooden racks full of unlabeled bottles lying on their sides, a through-the-wall cooling unit grille set high on the far wall and a round dial thermometer standing in a glass of water on a tasting shelf in front. The collection is exposed

Wine Cellar Too Warm

6 causes, cheapest first

 A ducted wine cellar with a white supply grille in the wood-paneled ceiling above tall racks of unlabeled bottles, a small wall clock with a plain face on the end panel and a faint shimmer of cool air below the grille. Problem

Cellar Cooling Unit Running Constantly

5 causes, cheapest first

 The exhaust side of a through-the-wall cellar cooling unit in a finished family room, its louvered grille set into a painted wall above a low bookshelf, a closed glass-paneled door to the lit wine cellar beside it showing racks of unlabeled bottles. Problem

Cellar Cooling Unit Loud or Vibrating

5 causes, cheapest first

When it needs
a technician.

The repairs on the right are where this guide ends when the checks do not settle it.

Cellar evaporator and condenser fan repair

Restoring the two fans a cellar unit depends on: the one that moves cellar air across the cold coil and the one that throws the heat away.

Cellar cooling load and room check

Measuring the cellar as the cooling unit sees it: insulation, vapor barrier, door, glass and the heat load, to show whether the unit can ever keep up.

Split-system cellar line set repair

Repairing, reinsulating or rerunning the copper lines and control cable that join the cellar evaporator to its outdoor or remote condensing unit.

More in
installation and setup.

What a cellar room needs before any cooling unit can hold it steady: insulation and a vapor barrier on the warm side, a door that seals, a place for the exhaust heat, and a drain for the water the coil pulls from the air.

The whole section
The room, the opening, the door and where the heat goes

Vapor Barrier and Insulation for a Cellar: The Envelope the Unit Depends On

The warm side of the insulation, R-11 and R-19 from Breezaire against WhisperKool's R-13, masonry that insulates nothing, recessed lights, the dark test and the new room that drips for a season.

 The room, the opening, the door and where the heat goes

A Cellar Door That Seals: Weatherstripping, the Bottom Edge and Glass

An R-11 door of minimum size, seals on four sides and behind the casing, the paper test, the dark test, glass doors that raise the load and habits that keep a good seal tight.

 Guides

All 18 guides

Six sections, by what you are trying to find out.

Back to your everyday

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Book with what you checked and the model number, and the technician starts where the guide stopped.

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