What Brands Make Thermoelectric Wine Refrigerators - 5 Popular Brands
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What Brands Make Thermoelectric Wine Refrigerators – 5 Popular Brands

David J Sharp
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A wine refrigerator is a great way to store and age your wine. However, with so many different brands on the market, it can be difficult to know which one is the best for you.

Thermoelectric wine refrigerators are becoming more and more popular, as people become more interested in storing their wine in a place where it will stay fresh.

For those that may not know what exactly a thermoelectric wine cooler is, it’s simply a unit that is powered by a thermoelectric system, which utilizes the Peltier effect for the purpose of thermoelectric cooling.

Due to the power limitations of such a unit, they’re only really used in smaller-sized wine coolers, ranging in bottle storage capacity from 2 to 25 wine bottles.

What is a Thermoelectric Wine Refrigerator?

Thermoelectric wine refrigerators are a type of refrigerator that uses thermoelectric technology (based on the Peltier-Seebeck effect) to cool your collection of wines. These units are often more energy-efficient than traditional compressor-powered wine coolers, as they have no moving parts.

Factors to Consider When Assessing a Wine Fridge Brand

To begin, there are a few key factors to consider when selecting a wine refrigerator brand and model. Some of these are obvious, while others are less so.

The reputation of the brand

When buying a wine fridge, the brand’s reputation will almost certainly be a major deciding factor.

Excellent, Responsive Customer service

This is most likely one of the most important factors to consider, and it is essentially an insurance policy. When it comes to good customer service, you want to make sure the company you’re buying from is easy to contact and has a reputation for providing excellent service.

How can you accurately assess the customer service of a brand?

There are two ways to do this, the first of which is significantly easier and the second of which is the true test:

  1. See unbiased customer reviews and feedback for each brand on Google Reviews and websites like Trustpilot and Feefo. You should take their overall review score (/10) and average it.
  2. Check the brand’s website to see if there is a contact email or live chat option. They’ve just earned a point (+1) if they have a live chat. If you have a question about a specific wine cooler on their website, you should email their support team. And what you’re looking for is their responsiveness and depth of response. The higher the score, the faster, more in-depth, and more helpful the response. For each brand, you can simply divide it by ten.

What you’re left with is a score for both 1 + 2. Simply combine the scores and you have a hierarchy of the brands that have great customer service, vs the ones that don’t.

Warranty

Another important consideration is the duration of the warranty. You want to know if they offer a warranty on their wine coolers because you’re buying one from their website. It’s also critical to understand the warranty’s terms and conditions, as some brands provide separate labor and parts warranties.

Features

Each wine fridge will have its own unique features, for example, some units will have a single cooling zone, whereas there will be others that have dual-zone, tri-zone, and even quad-zone capacity. Not only that, but wine fridges can vary in other features such as the amount of internal storage space, whether or not they have adjustable shelves or a display shelf, the materials used to create the shelving (metal or wood) if they have a reversible door and much more. Therefore, it’s important that you consider these factors before choosing one.

Physical Dimensions

It’s very important to consider the physical dimensions of a wine fridge before purchasing one because they come in a wide range of sizes and heights. By not considering the size, you may find that it doesn’t fit into the designated space at home, in your kitchen, or wine cellar. Or in a commercial environment like a bar or restaurant. Additionally, not considering the dimensions beforehand can make transporting the unit very difficult, particularly if there are narrow doorways, low ceilings, stairways, and sharp turns on the way to the place where it is being stored.

Cost

Last but not least, the cost of each thermoelectric wine refrigerator will vary, especially between brands. Given that a wine fridge is more of a long-term investment, you should expect to pay more for a unit that will last for longer. The worst thing you can do is buy a unit that breaks and requires replacing… So make sure you’re spending enough to buy a quality wine fridge.

With all of that being said, we’ve included a list of the most reputable, trustworthy wine fridge brands below. We’ve taken into account product customer reviews & ratings, alongside the amount of time that the business has been in operation.

How Does A Thermoelectric Wine Cooler Work?

As mentioned, these types of wine cooler utilize thermoelectric cooling technology, which operates on the principle of the Peltier Effect to maintain an optimal temperature for your wine collection. ScienceDirect discusses this more in detail here:

The Peltier effect is the reverse phenomenon of the Seebeck effect; the electrical current flowing through the junction connecting two materials will emit or absorb heat per unit time at the junction to balance the difference in the chemical potential of the two materials. Thanks to this effect, an electronic refrigerator can be made, which is known as the Peltier cooler. The Peltier cooler has been applied to niche areas such as infrared detectors, CPU coolers, wine cellars, etc., because the cooling power is lower than that of compressor-based refrigerators. This technique is called thermoelectrics.

Benefits of a Thermoelectric Wine Refrigerator

A thermoelectric wine fridge is an energy-efficient appliance that can help you preserve your wine. The fridge uses thermoelectric technology to convert the heat from your food or beverage inside the fridge into electricity. This electricity then powers the compressor that cools and refrigerates your food or beverage.

Benefits of a thermoelectric wine refrigerator include:

1. Energy Efficiency – It is a very energy-efficient type of wine fridge, allowing you to save money on your electric bill.

2. Minimal vibrations– Since it has no moving parts, there are near to no vibrations.

3. No Noise – This kind of unit is one of the quietest appliances on the market.

4. Environmentally friendly – Due to these units being extremely energy efficient, it also means that they’re more carbon-neutral and better for the environment.

5. Compact Design – Most thermoelectric wine fridges are small in size, given the limitations of this type of wine cooler. Therefore, they often have a compact design, so it will fit easily into any kitchen.

Drawbacks of a Thermoelectric Wine Refrigerator

Whilst there are a number of benefits, there are also a few drawbacks of choosing a thermoelectric wine fridge.

Drawbacks of a thermoelectric wine refrigerator include:

1. Temperature capacity – Due to the cooling technology, when compared to the likes of a compressor wine cooler, thermoelectric units are more limited in the temperature range that they can cover. They generally struggle to cool to the same low temperatures as compressor-powered units.

2. Wine Bottle CapacityThermoelectric wine coolers are much smaller in bottle capacity, with them covering a range from 2-25 bottles. Therefore, they’re generally used in homes, and wouldn’t be suitable for commercial usage.

Types of Thermoelectric Wine Refrigerators on the Market Today

There are a variety of different types of thermoelectric wine coolers on the market today.

The most common type is the countertop model, also known as a countertop wine cooler, which can be found in many homes as they are small and easy to store. Not to mention, these models typically have a small energy footprint so they won’t cost you a lot to run.

Other types of thermoelectric wine refrigerator includes, a single-zone unit, which has 1 storage cooling zone for storing your wine. These types are usually better for those people who want to only store one grape variety of wine, for example, their selection of white wine.

The other main type of thermoelectric wine cooler, which happens to be more uncommon is a dual-zone unit. These have 2 wine storage zones, thereby making it more suitable for those who want to store more than one type of wine, for example, both white and red wine in the same physical unit.

Which Brands Make Thermoelectric Wine Refrigerators?

In this section, we will take a look at some of the most popular brands that make thermoelectric wine fridges.

All of the brands below have been chosen based on the following criteria: We’ve had a look on sites like Amazon, to see which wine fridges had a 4-star rating and above, and the following brands were the most frequently mentioned. This shows that both the brand and particular models of wine fridge were satisfactory for the reviewer(s).

1. Wine Enthusiast

2. Edgestar

3. Ivation

4. Koolatron

5. Black + Decker

How Much Does a Thermoelectric Wine Refrigerator Cost?

The cost of a thermoelectric wine refrigerator is becoming more popular and affordable, with prices starting at around $150.

These units use a thermoelectric generator to convert heat into electricity and then use that electricity to run the refrigerator.

This type of unit is more efficient than a regular refrigerator, due to the fact that it has no moving parts.

Conclusion

A thermoelectric wine cooler is a great way to keep your wine fresh and cold. With so many different brands on the market, it can be difficult to decide which one is right for you. By understanding how these refrigerators work, and the key benefits of such a unit, you can decide if this type of wine fridge is suitable for your requirements.

However, when it comes to wine refrigerators, there are plenty of great options available. But it’s important to choose the right one for your needs. Make sure to consider everything from price to features before making your decision.

Rest assured that if you are looking for a quality wine refrigerator that will last for years, one of the mentioned brands above is a great choice.

Finally, if you’re looking at where to buy a thermoelectric wine cooler, then take a read of this article.

David J Sharp is a wine equipment expert, having previously worked with some of the best wine cooler manufacturers within the USA. Today he works as a full-time wine cooler and wine cellar consultant for small and large clients alike. You can find out more about LoveCraftWines here.

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