Bottle-count sizing · 1,000 bottles
Wine cellar cooling
for 1,000 bottles
Bottle count is how people search. Cubic feet, glass, and insulation are how a cabinet is sold. Typical room: A 10 ft by 10 ft by 8 ft or 10 ft by 12 ft by 9 ft cellar. About 700 to 1,100 ft3.
Starting point
4,462 BTU/h. Up to about 1,200 ft3. Use 3500 only if the room is closer to 800 ft3, the envelope is honest, and glass is a door. Use 5000 when you are near 1,000 ft3 or the glass is more than a door.
Written and reviewed by
Panthaire HVAC Engineering Team · Licensed HVAC · Wine Cellar Cooling Specialists
The team that engineers APEX is the same team that ships it and answers the phone when installers call.
Last reviewed · August 27, 2026
What has to be true
- 01One thousand bottles is the 3500 vs 5000 decision.
- 0210x10x8 is 800 ft3. 10x12x9 is 1,080 ft3. Measure.
- 03Glass and insulation decide the model more than the extra 200 bottles.
- 04Dedicated 15A on both 3500 and 5000. Licensed HVAC.
One thousand bottles is where people over-buy because the number feels large. A 10 ft by 10 ft by 8 ft cellar is 800 ft3. That can still be APEX 3500 (about 900 ft3) with an honest envelope and a glass door. A 10 ft by 12 ft by 9 ft room is 1,080 ft3. That is APEX 5000 territory (about 1,200 ft3), especially with glass. The bottle count did not change the physics. The ceiling height and the extra two feet of width did.
Do not pick 5000 because the bottle count has four digits. Pick it because the calculator, after glass and insulation, says so. A sealed 800 ft3 room with a wood door on 3500 will be quieter and cheaper than a 5000 short-cycling in a leaky box. Short-cycling is how compressors die. Headroom is good. A cabinet that hits setpoint in thirty seconds is not headroom. It is the wrong size.
This is also a common developer amenity band (400 to 800 bottles on the conversation, 1,000 if they want a showpiece). Name the warranty holder. Pair a design firm for racking and glass. Panthaire stays the cooling line. Multi-unit bids use the Pro workspace quantity field. Do not expect a public net price on the product page.
Install: cabinet in a conditioned space at 50-77F, insulated ducts inside published lengths, sloped drain, dedicated 15A. 3500 and 5000 share the 15A circuit. 7000 is the 20A jump. Commission to 55F. If the mechanical room is a floor away, read the ductwork guide before you promise a model. Long ducts eat capacity. They do not invent a fourth APEX size.
Glass at this count is often a tasting face, not a door. Measure the glazed area in square feet. A single door is about +15%. A 10 ft glass wall is a different adder. Put that number in the calculator. If the result flips from 3500 to 5000, believe the glass, not the bottle nickname.
Noise at 1,000 bottles is a tasting-room problem. Ducted keeps the compressor out of the room. That only helps if the mechanical space is actually next door and conditioned. A remote closet with a 40 ft duct run will be quieter in the cellar and weaker on capacity. Read the ductwork guide before you promise 3500 on an 800 ft3 room two floors away.
Run the BTU calculator with the real room. Then open the matching cut sheet, 3500 or 5000. The installation guide is the sequence either way. US jobs are DTC. Licensed HVAC. No public installer map.
Recommended starting cabinet
APEX 5000
4,462 BTU/h · about 1,200 ft3 · 115V / 60Hz dedicated 15A
4,462 BTU/h. Up to about 1,200 ft3. Use 3500 only if the room is closer to 800 ft3, the envelope is honest, and glass is a door. Use 5000 when you are near 1,000 ft3 or the glass is more than a door.
Install notes at this scale
Licensed HVAC installs. DIY voids the warranty. The wine cellar cooling installation guide is the sequence. The ducted wine cellar cooling pillar explains the architecture.
- 01Get L x W x H before you pick 3500 vs 5000.
- 0215A dedicated on both of those models.
- 03Watch duct length on a remote mechanical room.
- 04Licensed HVAC. Commission with glass and lights as-used.
Other bottle counts
Each page is a different room, not a cloned paragraph. If your count sits between two numbers, open both, then confirm with L, W, H, and glass.
Questions at 1,000 bottles
Is 1,000 bottles automatically APEX 5000?
No. An 800 ft3 honest room can stay on 3500. A 1,080 ft3 room or a glass wall usually wants 5000. Measure.
Do I need a 20A circuit at 1,000 bottles?
Not for 3500 or 5000. Those are 15A. 20A is APEX 7000.
What if the amenity is on a different floor from the mechanical room?
Check the ductwork guide before you lock a model. Long runs lose capacity. Fix routing before you upsize.
Confirm the room
Measure L, W, H, and glass next.
The BTU calculator returns the APEX model that fits. Before You Build locks the envelope. Pro is for a specified job.