Can Freestanding Wine Coolers be Used as Built In Wine Coolers?

With there being multiple different models of wine coolers, such as built-in wine coolers, freestanding wine coolers, integrated wine coolers and even wine walls - it is understandable to get confused by the different features and accessories of each one.

Whether you want these small, medium or large capacity wine coolers in your kitchens, garages or anywhere in your property that they will fit - some will have different capabilities and spaces they can go.

But, what are some of the different variants of wine fridges, their features and what they can and can’t achieve? Read along to find out more!

What is a Freestanding Wine Cooler?

First of all, a freestanding wine fridge can be purchased in all different styles and sizes - catering to the size of your personal wine collection. The modified wine coolers can store anywhere from 20 to 300 bottles of wine at maximum capacity. Therefore, the diversity of this storage unit is perfect for beginner, intermediate and advanced wine connoisseurs.

The actual purpose of the freestanding wine cooler is for it to stand alone and not be in close proximity to any other appliances or units within your chosen placement for it. Due to the placements of their air vents, they demand a lot of room. If they don’t get the required amount of space, the ventilation will have a pointless effect around the sides and back of your wine cooler.

These stand-alone wine coolers will need a minimum of 3-5 inches of room available around the perimeter of the model you’ve chosen. If the cooling system is allowed to do its job, your wine beverage will be at its peak - set up for a riveting all-around drinking experience.

With them being movable, they are an easy-to-install product with a lot of flexibility to move if you feel it will look better in another room (has to have enough space). Freestanding wine coolers have a plethora of options online that will be sure to suit the aesthetic of your household. However, pre-planning where you would like it to go in your property - to ensure that you can cater for the space it will make up.

What is a Built-In Wine Cooler?

On the opposite end of the wine storage options, a built-in wine cooler has a contrasting placement of air vents - which are placed directly underneath the wine cooler. The reason for this is to draw cool air in from the space required from any which way and turn out (by any side of the vent) any warm air that is stored within the wine cooler.

The main purpose of these built-in wine fridges is to be placed and installed under a counter within your home or commercial kitchen. Now, everyone’s countertops aren’t the same size and have similar amounts of room underneath them to locate a built-in wine cooler. However, the good news for wine lovers is that there is a diverse range of these wine refrigerators on the market to fit underneath most kitchen countertops.

With single-zone, dual-zone and multi-zone options being available and tons of other functions such as multi-coloured LED lighting, temperature control, touch screen, etc - built-in wine coolers are slowly becoming the most popular model. Proudly displaying your wine collection with a sleek and luxurious wine cooler underneath your counter will certainly make a stand-out first impression.

The only downfall is that it can be quite difficult to install as the measurements have to be precise - in order for your wine cooler to ventilate properly. Whether you choose to install it yourself or manage to find a professional to do it - you must ensure that it has 0.25cm to 0.5cm around each side of it. The larger the wine cooler will be the more amount of room it needs (closer to 0.5cm) and vice versa with a small model.

Can Freestanding Wine Coolers be Installed as a Built-In Wine Cooler?

Merging different wine coolers to have the same functionalities and components are ideas that many people would like to happen. However, is it even possible to install a freestanding wine fridge into a built-in unit?

Freestanding wine coolers, as we’ve discussed have their air vents on the back of the cooler - whereas, built-in models have their air vents underneath the model instead. Therefore, unfortunately, it is not possible to have a freestanding model in the same place as a built-in model.

With the air vents being placed at the back of the freestanding model - if it were to go underneath a countertop, the vent would be completely blocked. When an air vent is blocked, the air will not be able to circulate into the wine cooler - meaning the heat won’t have the ability and directions to dissipate correctly. Heat build-up would cause the freestanding model to overheat - completely ruining the optimal temperature inside of the cooler.

With no ability to be able to dissipate the heat effectively, the wine cooler would have to work much harder to keep a functionally stable temperature and humidity. This amount of work cannot be sustained over a long period of time - therefore, installing the proper wine cooler for countertops is the only option.

Final Thoughts

Each wine cooler has different capabilities, shapes and sizes with different gadgets to enhance the experience. But, unfortunately, they cannot be interchangeable when installed in your home (whether indoor or outdoor).

A Different width, height and depth are what separates the bunch - as freestanding wine coolers usually have the freedom to be as tall as possible. Whereas, built-in wine coolers typically have to be crammed into a certain space.

No matter what wine cooler you decide to order, there will be endless options that will suit your home aesthetic. If you feel you have more space for a more dominant, stand-out freestanding model, then that is the one for you. But, if you want the luxurious and classy built-in model in your kitchen’s plans - then there are countless wine coolers for you also!