--- title: "Wine Cellar Too Cold: Causes and Fixes" description: "A wine cellar too cold feels like stepping into a walk-in: the thermometer sits in the 40s, bottles come out beaded with water, and the unit keeps running long…" url: "https://winecellarrepair.center/problems/cellar-too-cold/" --- # Wine Cellar Too Cold A wine cellar too cold feels like stepping into a walk-in: the thermometer sits in the 40s, bottles come out beaded with water, and the unit keeps running long after the room should have been satisfied. ## What it usually means. Cellar wine is kept near 55°F. Colder than that does not spoil the wine quickly, but it slows its aging almost to a stop, and a room in the 40s makes the unit's coil run so cold that it ices, which then cuts cooling and swings the room the other way. A cold cellar usually comes from the controller rather than the cooling: a setting knocked down, a sensor that is reading warm because it sits in the path of the lights or near the door, or a relay that sticks closed and keeps the compressor running whatever the controller asks. Winter plays a part too. A cellar in a basement or against an outside wall can fall below its set point with no cooling at all, and most units cannot add heat; a cellar that is too cold in January may need a small heater rather than a repair. The 4 causes, cheapest first Answer these first 01 What does a thermometer in a glass of water read, and what does the controller show? 02 Does the unit keep running when the room is already cold, or is it off? 03 Is it winter, and does the cellar share a wall with the outside or an unheated space? 04 Where is the room sensor: near the door, beside a light, or in the unit's own return air? 05 Has the coil behind the cellar-side grille got ice on it? ## Check these before you book. Wine cellar too cold: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything. 01 Read the set temperature on the controller and compare it with a thermometer in a glass of water on a middle rack. 02 Look at where the room sensor sits and whether a light, the door or the unit's own cold air is blowing on it. 03 Note whether the unit is running while the room is cold, or silent. ### Also worth checking - Check the cellar-side coil for ice; a very cold room often ices it. - Tell us the make and model number, and whether this is a winter-only problem. ### How soon does it need a visit? Not urgent. A cold cellar slows the wine rather than harming it. Book when convenient, sooner if the coil is icing or the unit never rests. ## The causes, cheapest first. 4 things wine cellar too cold turns out to be, from set point knocked down to cold weather pulling the room down. [The cost guide](https://winecellarrepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 no repair ### Set point knocked down A button pressed while dusting, or a guest adjusting the controller, can drop the setting by several degrees. Check it before anything else. No repair: check it yourself 2. 02 low to moderate ### Room sensor misplaced or drifting A sensor near a warm light or a door reads the room as warmer than it is and keeps the unit running. One that has drifted with age does the same. [Fixed by cellar controller and sensor repair](https://winecellarrepair.center/services/cellar-controller-and-sensor-repair/) 3. 03 low to moderate ### Relay stuck closed When the relay that powers the compressor welds itself shut, the unit runs nonstop no matter what the controller says. [Fixed by cellar controller and sensor repair](https://winecellarrepair.center/services/cellar-controller-and-sensor-repair/) 4. 04 varies ### Cold weather pulling the room down An outside wall or an unheated space next door can drag a cellar well below its setting in winter. Most cellar units only cool, so the answer is a small heater or better insulation, which a room check will show. [Fixed by cellar cooling load and room check](https://winecellarrepair.center/services/cellar-cooling-load-and-room-check/) 5. What it costs ### Every repair on the site's cost scale, side by side Open the cost guide ## What else it could be. Most often confused with cellar cooling unit running constantly, then cellar cooling evaporator coil icing up. [All problems](https://winecellarrepair.center/problems/) Codes that come with it - [`Er` Breezaire · Sensors and probes](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/breezaire-er/) - [`LO` Breezaire · Sensors and probes](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/breezaire-lo/) - [`E1` CellarCool · Sensors and probes](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/cellarcool-e1/) - [`AL1` CellarCool · Temperature and alarms](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/cellarcool-al1/) - [`P1` CellarPro · Sensors and probes](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/cellarpro-p1/) - [`LA` CellarPro · Temperature and alarms](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/cellarpro-la/) [7 more codes, by make](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/) Also related - [**Cellar Cooling Unit Error Code** 8 causes](https://winecellarrepair.center/problems/cellar-cooling-unit-error-code/) ### Cellar Cooling Unit Running Constantly 5 causes ### Cellar Cooling Evaporator Coil Icing Up 5 causes ### Wine Cellar Humidity Too Low 4 causes ## The makes it happens on. 7 makes on this site; wine cellar too cold can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page. [All 7 brands](https://winecellarrepair.center/brands/) ## Wine Cellar Too Cold, where we come out. 9 metros, each with its own page. 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Not harmful in the short term. The wine simply ages very slowly. The bigger worry is the unit: a room that cold makes the coil ice and the unit run far longer than it should. ### Why is my cellar colder in winter than the setting? Most cellar units can only remove heat, not add it. A cellar with an outside wall or a cold room next door loses heat faster than it gains it in winter, so it drifts below the setting with the unit off. ### Can I just raise the setting to fix it? If the setting was the cause, yes. If the unit keeps running after you raise it, the sensor or a relay is the likely cause, and the setting will not help. ### Where should the temperature sensor sit in a wine cellar? In still air at about mid height, away from the door, the lights and the stream of cold air from the unit. Many installers mount it on a rack post near the middle of the room. --- **[Read on the site: Wine Cellar Too Cold: Causes and Fixes](https://winecellarrepair.center/problems/cellar-too-cold/)** **[Book a visit with WineCellarRepair.center](https://winecellarrepair.center/schedule/)**