The Australian Construction industry has recently seen a surge in construction of home wine cellars with ridged insulation. Once considered a seldom-used room in the basement, the trend is moving towards a wine cellar in the main house, where people can show guests their collection and easily pick out the best drop for an occasion.
Wine cellars must be constructed properly to ensure the health of the wine. They must have a controlled temperature and humidity while limiting exposure UV light. This often requires artificial systems that are costly to run and maintain. To minimise this, it is recommended that wine cellars use a ridged insulation with high R-values.
Foamular Extruded Polystyrene from Austech External Building Products is recommended in all cold storage applications, including wine cellars. Foamular’s ridged closed cell structure means it can withstand the extremes of cold storage, which is easily adapted to wine cellars.
For optimum results, wine must be stored at a controlled low temperature. This is why traditionally in the northern hemisphere wine is stored in basements. The Australian climate makes even this impossible.
Foamular Extruded Polystyrene acts as a barrier, keeping cold temperatures in, and warm temperatures out. This will also prolong the life of the cooling system and lower upkeep costs, because of the reduction in temperature fluctuations.
Foamular is quick and easy to install. It can be screwed straight into timber or steel studwork, creating a seam free insulation shield, eliminating the thermal bridging associated with Batts and other insulation. Foamular is also safe to clad over, including render, stone and wood, so there is no need to sacrifice aesthetics for function.
Wine also requires a humid environment to stop the air drawing moisture from the bottle. The water in this humidity will cause damage to the areas surrounding the wine cellar and most insulation will be rendered useless in humid environments.
Foamular has a closed cell structure, and therefore will not absorb any moisture, maintaining its high R-values. It also stops water vapour from escaping and damaging areas adjacent to the wine cellar.