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Removing Heat-Producing Equipment from your Beer Cellar & Why it’s so Important

The Sports Savings Guys

Updated: Jul 3, 2023

Keeping your beer cellar at the perfect temperature is rule 101 for anyone who pulls a pint and we don’t need to tell you why - a tepid tankard of the good stuff is a serious faux pas.


In the ongoing pursuit of pint perfection, your beer cellar is what’ll make or break your success. It’s little wonder it’s coined ‘the engine room of the British pub’ and keeping it at the right temperature is mission critical, but have you considered the impact of electrical equipment on your efforts?


In this article, we’ll share four ways to minimise the impact of equipment on your beer cellar in order to keep it a cool and well-oiled machine.


Remove heat from your cellar - just cool the kegs
Keep Your Beer Cellar Cool: Remove Heat-Producing Equipment

But first…

Why is temperature so important?

There are two key reasons why keeping your beer cellar cool matters: customer satisfaction and money.


Having a cool cellar preserves your beer, ensuring it’s safe to drink and sell to your customers and that they enjoy it. A disatisfied customer is much less likely to become a repeat customer and repeat customers are worth their weight in gold.


Fun fact: Repeat customers spend 67% more than new customers.


Which brings us nicely onto the second key benefit - money. Storing beer at the wrong temperature causes it to spoil which can cost a significant amount of profit in lost product. Keeping your cellar cool preserves the beer so you don’t need to worry about losing money.


4 ways to minimise the impact of equipment


1. Give electrical items the boot

Electrical items in your cellar are a big no no. While they play an important role in your community sports club, they’re a little-known enemy when it comes to the perfect cellar temperature.


Why? Because they produce heat and therefore push your cooling system to work harder than necessary, resulting in higher energy consumption and ultimately costs. Some of the worst offenders include:

  • Ice makers

  • Beer chillers

  • Incandescent light bulbs.

The solution

If possible, remove these from your beer cellar ASAP. In doing so you’ll reduce the amount of heat your cooling system has to contend with.


Top tip: Switch to energy efficient LED lighting which emits very little heat, uses a fraction of the electricity consumed by traditional incandescent bulbs, is cheaper to run, and can last up to fifty times longer.


2. Erect a partition

We realise not everyone has the luxury of being able to action the above point but don’t worry, there are still things you can do such as erecting a partition to separate your heat-producing electrical items from your kegs and primary cooling area.


While the impact might be lesser, you’ll still be helping to keep the heat away from your beer and reduce the workload of your cooling system aka cutting costs.


3. Location, location, location

If Harry Potter’s bedroom under the stairs looks roomy compared to your cellar and therefore partitioning isn’t an option either, there are still steps you can take.


The last resort is to move heat-producing equipment as far away from your cooling fan as possible. Chillers or ice makers, for example, should never be located directly under your cooling fan.


Positioning like this will trick your cooling system into thinking the cellar is warmer than it really is, meaning it will work harder as a result, consuming more energy, and (you guessed it) costing you more than necessary. Location is key.


4. Insulate hot water pipes

Hot water pipes running through your beer cellar might seem like a space-saving solution, but they could be secretly sabotaging your cooling efforts.


The heat they emit can raise the temperature in your beer cellar, making your cooling system work overtime. If removing them isn't an option, ensure they're well-insulated to minimise their impact on your cellar temperature.


Top tip: While insulating pipes, don’t forget any fittings and apply draught stripping in places where the pipes pass through walls for maximum impact.


Key takeaways

Managing the heat-producing equipment in your beer cellar can make a real difference to your energy consumption and therefore the cost of running your cooling system.


It's not just about keeping your beer at the perfect temperature; it's about doing so in the most energy-efficient and cost-effective way possible.


In this article we’ve shared actionable steps to suit clubs of every shape and size. To learn more about ways to keep your cellar cool, check out our article on the impact of insulation or reach out to Chris today at chris@tjbservices.co.uk to discover potential savings for your club.

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