I have decided to add this as one of our main information pages because it’s a complaint I seem to come across whenever I’m doing any research on the best wine coolers that are currently on the market. The one thing I have noticed is this appears to be an incredibly personal issue.
It can be really confusing when you’re trying to decide on a model that will suit you best and the noise factor is top of your list in requirements. If I had a penny for every wine cooler review I’ve read that states some people find a particular model noisy whereas others don’t I would be a rich woman!
So, there are a couple of things that can help you decide (apart from what other people have to say). Personally, I think we have to take a look at the type of cooling system a manufacturer uses when designing a wine cooler. After all, this is where it “all happens” and, it’s the one part of your appliance that will produce the highest noise levels.
Electric Wine Coolers
Much like your home refrigerator, this type of wine cooler uses what’s called a compressor based electric system. However, unlike your fridge the temperature in a wine cooler like this can be set and it will stay at that level (or at least, there will be less fluctuation).
In terms of noise, compressor based cooling systems are far noisier than the systems I have for you below (there are a few exceptions though!).
Then again, a big plus for these systems is that they usually have a larger temperature range than the next type. This is especially important if you store dessert wines or other sweet wines that need to be chilled a little more.
Thermo-Electric Wine Coolers
Thermo-Electric wine coolers have gone one step further in terms of the technology they use. Using the Peltier technology available (I could elaborate on that, but you would be asleep by the time I’ve finished), this type of cooling system has less moving parts and therefore produces less noise. It also helps in terms of vibration which (if you don’t already know) not only produces noise but can upset your wines as well.
These type of wine coolers are indeed more quiet, but do not forget to check the temperature range you can set for your desired cooler. There are thermo-electric wine coolers that can’t be set colder than 55 degrees, which is too high if you use it for dessert wines.
Another slight drawback with this type of cooling system is you may find you won’t be able to store collections of wine any larger than about 30 bottles. However, all is not lost. Manufacturers such as Vinotemp have managed to produce larger coolers that combine both electric and thermo-electric cooling.
Absorption Cooling
This (to my knowledge) is one of the newest types of technology used with wine coolers. As with Thermo-Electric, it doesn’t require a compressor or other moving parts that can produce a lot of noise. Again, you will more than likely only find the smaller size coolers available with this type of technology, but there’s only a few of them. If you’re looking for a quiet wine cooler, you’re more likely to find one with Thermo-Electric technology.
Overall
Of course, your budget will be something that determines the type of cooling system you can opt for. Unfortunately, the quieter models do tend to be more expensive and this is because of the advanced technology used.
Alternatively, you could opt for a cheaper model and place it somewhere where the noise won’t bother you. It may save you quite some money.