wine cellar HVAC

I need a new split system for my wine cellar. Does anyone know what the in-bottle temperature variability is for having the temperature probe inside the bottle versus the temperature probe measuring air temperature outside the bottle.

My thinking is that the inside bottle temperature will have to change a lot to trigger the air conditioner to turn on versus the wine cellar air which changes more quickly, thus triggering the air conditioner to turn on more frequently to maintain a tighter temperature range in the bottle. But I don’t know how the controls are set for the different probes. thank you

You definitely want the AC to trigger based on air temperature, not bottle temperature.

My air temp (as measured) varies about 1 or 1.5 *F whereas bottle temp measured with probe varies .1-.2 *F. For it to go up a full degree to trigger AC would mean the cellar has been well above desired for a long time (and would have to chill for quite a while to bring the wine back down).

(Note: neither measure triggers AC, which is on its own thermostat that measures air temp.)

Here’s illustration from my monitor of air vs wine temp over last three days.
Wine Cellar.png

I too originally thought in-bottle temp probe was better but no longer. Temperate change in a wine is basically based on mass. The air in your wine cellar will generally only have as much mass as maybe one case of wine. The energy to change that mass is relatively small. If you let the temp drop such that the wine-in-the bottle drops temp, then you will have to run the unit alot longer to get the temperature back down. I dont really think it will save you much.

Also, more importantly, i think its better for the wine. There is a school of thought that you shouldnt have the temperature of wine fluctuate (for a whole lot of reasons). Monitoring and keeping the air at 55 should ensure that the wine temperature is much more stable, instead of constantly cycling up and down.

thank you eric and Andrew. Going with the same I have now which measures the air. Do either of you have any alarms or cell phone forewarding that would tell you if there is a problem with the temp or the humidity while you are away?