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Wine Guardian D088WC Ducted Water Cooled Wine Cooling System - Base Model is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.
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Wine Guardian D088WC Ducted Water Cooled Wine Cooling System
THINKING ABOUT THE PERFECT WINE CELLAR? Save time and money: get expert advice before you buy
Call our Wine Cellar Specialist at 1 (800) 260-1712 for FREE CONSULTATION!
The Wine Guardian D088WC water-cooled ducted unit is a self-contained wine cellar cooling system rated 9,600 BTU/h at 230 V that rejects its heat into a building water loop instead of into the surrounding air.
That single difference is the whole decision. A water-cooled unit exists for the case where there is nowhere acceptable to send warm exhaust air: a sealed mechanical room, a finished basement with no route to outside, a space where the heat would land somewhere it is not wanted, or a build where the noise and airflow of a condenser fan cannot go. In exchange, the heat has to go somewhere else, and that somewhere is a water loop the building already has. Wine Guardian names geothermal, cooling tower and lake water as the applications these systems are built for, and states that water-cooled systems remove the need to exhaust heat but require a year-round water supply. Specifying the D088WC is therefore a plumbing and building-services decision before it is a cooling decision.
Wine Guardian publishes a safe condenser inlet water temperature range of 45°F to 85°F and warns that water entering above 85°F risks tripping the high-pressure switch. Its ducted specifications sheet gives the D088 column 1.20 GPM at a 20°F rise, a 0.08 PSI pressure drop and a 0.50 inch outside-diameter connection; the loop capacity has to be confirmed by the contractor who will make the connection. This is not a unit that simply plumbs in, and our list of the spec mistakes contractors most often make on wine cellar projects covers the details that decide whether that connection is made once or twice.
The D088WC is sized for wine cellars and storage rooms of roughly 850 to 4,500 cubic feet and holds them at 55°F to 58°F. Every unit ships with a coated evaporator coil, a Wireless2Base remote interface controller, an aluminum chassis with UL-rated composite panels and Wine Guardian fail-safe protection. As an authorized Wine Guardian dealer we list the D088WC with full manufacturer specifications so it can be compared and sized correctly; final sizing should be confirmed with the Wine Guardian cooling calculator and a licensed HVAC professional.
See how a Wine Guardian water-cooled system carries cellar heat out through a water loop instead of blowing it into an adjacent room.
Questions about fit? Call our specialists at (800) 260-1712.
The D088WC is the right unit when a cellar of roughly 850 to 4,500 cubic feet has no acceptable place to reject heat into the air and the building already has a year-round water loop to reject it into instead. If that loop does not exist yet, the honest comparison is not against another cooling unit but against the cost of building the loop, and in most homes the air-cooled D088 is the simpler answer. Where the cellar itself can go often settles that question first, and our comparison of how each possible wine cellar location in a home compares weighs the options on exactly that basis.
The D088WC pairs the standard Sentinel Series ducted platform with a water-cooled condenser section, so everything below the heat-rejection row is shared with the air-cooled D088.
| Feature | What it means for your cellar |
|---|---|
| Water-cooled condenser section | Heat leaves through a water loop rather than a condenser air stream, so no room has to absorb the exhaust. The loop must already exist and must run all year. |
| Copper straight tube water connections | Cooling water inlet and outlet are copper straight tube, so the connection is made by the plumbing or mechanical trade during installation, not by the owner afterwards. |
| Self-contained ducted design | Evaporator, fans, compressor, condenser and controls sit in one cabinet outside the cellar, so the wine room itself stays quiet and clear. |
| Coated evaporator coil | Protects the evaporator side against corrosion in the humid air a wine cellar is deliberately kept in. |
| Wireless2Base remote interface controller | Monitors temperature and humidity continuously and corrects conditions before the wine is affected; the controller can be placed in a kitchen, den or elsewhere. |
| Precision control (±1°F / ±10% RH) | Holds wine-storage conditions of 55°F to 58°F, with an optional humidifier for 55% to 65% relative humidity. |
| Aluminum chassis with UL-rated composite panels | Resists dents and scratches through shipping and installation, and keeps the cabinet serviceable in a mechanical room. |
| Field-serviceable, multi-panel access | Panels, duct collars and grille remove with a couple of screwdriver turns, so service happens on site rather than by returning the unit. |
| Optional bundles and humidification | All Wine Temperatures, Extreme Climate Protection and Ultimate bundles add heating, low and high ambient protection, and serving-temperature control as the space requires. |
Wine Guardian publishes two hard water-side requirements for its water-cooled units and leaves the rest to the specifications sheet. The published requirements are a condenser inlet water temperature inside a safe operating range of 45°F to 85°F, and a year-round water supply. Wine Guardian also warns that water entering above 85°F risks tripping the high-pressure switch, does not recommend water-cooled systems on a city water supply, and specifies copper straight tube connections for the cooling water inlet and outlet. The Wine Guardian ducted specifications sheet gives the D088 column 1.20 GPM at a 20°F rise, a 0.08 PSI pressure drop and a 0.50 inch outside-diameter connection; have the installing contractor verify the loop can actually deliver them alongside whatever else it serves.
Built-in protection: the system checks conditions continuously through remote air sensing and adjusts before temperature or humidity drift can affect the collection.
Wine Guardian does not publish a single decibel rating for its ducted units, because the dominant noise factor is placement: the D088WC installs outside the wine room and connects through insulated ductwork, so the compressor and fans are not in the space you occupy. Rejecting heat to water rather than air also removes the condenser air stream that a comparable air-cooled unit has to move and exhaust somewhere.
Wine Guardian publishes the D088 platform in two voltage columns, 208 V and 230 V, so every capacity and current figure below is tagged with the voltage it belongs to. The capacity ladder is published against condenser inlet temperature on the Wine Guardian ducted specifications sheet; the safe condenser inlet water temperature range for the water-cooled section is published separately as 45°F to 85°F.
Minimum circuit ampacity and the electric heat rating are printed on the Wine Guardian ducted specifications sheet as combined heat and no-heat values and are not reproduced here. Take both from that sheet and have a licensed electrician size the circuit, the disconnect and the overcurrent protection. The 125 lb weight and the 41.5 in x 22.5 in x 19 in dimensions above are the figures Wine Guardian publishes for the D088WC in the Additional Information table on its own product page; they describe the unit and its cabinet, not the crated shipping weight, so confirm the shipping weight with Wine Guardian before rigging is planned or freight is booked.
Accessory availability and pricing are confirmed on each live product page. An integrated or freestanding Wine Guardian humidifier can be added to reach 55% to 65% relative humidity. Water-loop piping, valves and any circulator are supplied and installed by the contractor making the connection.
The D088WC and the air-cooled D088 cool identically; they differ only in where the heat goes and what the building must already provide.
| Decision factor | D088WC (water-cooled) | D088 (air-cooled) | D200WC (water-cooled) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the heat goes | Into a building water loop | Into the surrounding air | Into a building water loop |
| What the site must already have | A year-round water supply between 45°F and 85°F | A space that can absorb and ventilate the exhaust heat | A year-round water supply between 45°F and 85°F |
| Trades needed to install | Refrigeration, electrical and plumbing | Refrigeration and electrical | Refrigeration, electrical and plumbing |
| Rated capacity at 230 V, 80°F condenser inlet | 9,600 BTU/h | 9,600 BTU/h | 15,680 BTU/h |
Best for: choose the D088WC if the cellar has nowhere acceptable to reject heat into the air and a year-round water loop is already on site. Not ideal for: choose the air-cooled D088 if a ventilated space is available, because it delivers the same 9,600 BTU/h with no water connection and one fewer trade; choose the D200WC if the cellar is larger than the 088 class covers.
If you are still choosing a configuration, the full range of Wine Guardian water-cooled ducted cooling systems shows every capacity that rejects heat to a loop, and if you are working from room size instead, compare it against the other cooling units for cellars of 2,200 to 4,500 cubic feet.
WATER-COOLEDD050WC Water-Cooled UnitThe water-cooled step down for smaller cellars.View product
WATER-COOLEDD200WC Water-Cooled UnitThe water-cooled step up for cellars beyond 4,500 cubic feet.View product
AIR-COOLEDD088 Ducted UnitThe same capacity with no water loop and no plumbing.View product
AIR-COOLEDD025 Ducted UnitCompact ducted cooling for small wine cellars.View product
AIR-COOLEDD050 Ducted UnitMid-size ducted cooling for growing cellars.View product
AIR-COOLEDD200 Ducted UnitMaximum ducted capacity for the largest cellars.View product
Compare the full water-cooled range or talk to us about whether your water loop can carry the D088WC. This guidance is general and is meant to help narrow the selection; final sizing, installation design, water-loop capacity and electrical requirements should be confirmed with Wine Guardian documentation and a licensed HVAC professional or qualified contractor.
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The Wine Guardian D088WC water-cooled ducted unit is a self-contained wine cellar cooling system rated 9,600 BTU/h at 230 V that rejects its heat into a building water loop instead of into the surrounding air.
That single difference is the whole decision. A water-cooled unit exists for the case where there is nowhere acceptable to send warm exhaust air: a sealed mechanical room, a finished basement with no route to outside, a space where the heat would land somewhere it is not wanted, or a build where the noise and airflow of a condenser fan cannot go. In exchange, the heat has to go somewhere else, and that somewhere is a water loop the building already has. Wine Guardian names geothermal, cooling tower and lake water as the applications these systems are built for, and states that water-cooled systems remove the need to exhaust heat but require a year-round water supply. Specifying the D088WC is therefore a plumbing and building-services decision before it is a cooling decision.
Wine Guardian publishes a safe condenser inlet water temperature range of 45°F to 85°F and warns that water entering above 85°F risks tripping the high-pressure switch. Its ducted specifications sheet gives the D088 column 1.20 GPM at a 20°F rise, a 0.08 PSI pressure drop and a 0.50 inch outside-diameter connection; the loop capacity has to be confirmed by the contractor who will make the connection. This is not a unit that simply plumbs in, and our list of the spec mistakes contractors most often make on wine cellar projects covers the details that decide whether that connection is made once or twice.
The D088WC is sized for wine cellars and storage rooms of roughly 850 to 4,500 cubic feet and holds them at 55°F to 58°F. Every unit ships with a coated evaporator coil, a Wireless2Base remote interface controller, an aluminum chassis with UL-rated composite panels and Wine Guardian fail-safe protection. As an authorized Wine Guardian dealer we list the D088WC with full manufacturer specifications so it can be compared and sized correctly; final sizing should be confirmed with the Wine Guardian cooling calculator and a licensed HVAC professional.
See how a Wine Guardian water-cooled system carries cellar heat out through a water loop instead of blowing it into an adjacent room.
Questions about fit? Call our specialists at (800) 260-1712.
The D088WC is the right unit when a cellar of roughly 850 to 4,500 cubic feet has no acceptable place to reject heat into the air and the building already has a year-round water loop to reject it into instead. If that loop does not exist yet, the honest comparison is not against another cooling unit but against the cost of building the loop, and in most homes the air-cooled D088 is the simpler answer. Where the cellar itself can go often settles that question first, and our comparison of how each possible wine cellar location in a home compares weighs the options on exactly that basis.
The D088WC pairs the standard Sentinel Series ducted platform with a water-cooled condenser section, so everything below the heat-rejection row is shared with the air-cooled D088.
| Feature | What it means for your cellar |
|---|---|
| Water-cooled condenser section | Heat leaves through a water loop rather than a condenser air stream, so no room has to absorb the exhaust. The loop must already exist and must run all year. |
| Copper straight tube water connections | Cooling water inlet and outlet are copper straight tube, so the connection is made by the plumbing or mechanical trade during installation, not by the owner afterwards. |
| Self-contained ducted design | Evaporator, fans, compressor, condenser and controls sit in one cabinet outside the cellar, so the wine room itself stays quiet and clear. |
| Coated evaporator coil | Protects the evaporator side against corrosion in the humid air a wine cellar is deliberately kept in. |
| Wireless2Base remote interface controller | Monitors temperature and humidity continuously and corrects conditions before the wine is affected; the controller can be placed in a kitchen, den or elsewhere. |
| Precision control (±1°F / ±10% RH) | Holds wine-storage conditions of 55°F to 58°F, with an optional humidifier for 55% to 65% relative humidity. |
| Aluminum chassis with UL-rated composite panels | Resists dents and scratches through shipping and installation, and keeps the cabinet serviceable in a mechanical room. |
| Field-serviceable, multi-panel access | Panels, duct collars and grille remove with a couple of screwdriver turns, so service happens on site rather than by returning the unit. |
| Optional bundles and humidification | All Wine Temperatures, Extreme Climate Protection and Ultimate bundles add heating, low and high ambient protection, and serving-temperature control as the space requires. |
Wine Guardian publishes two hard water-side requirements for its water-cooled units and leaves the rest to the specifications sheet. The published requirements are a condenser inlet water temperature inside a safe operating range of 45°F to 85°F, and a year-round water supply. Wine Guardian also warns that water entering above 85°F risks tripping the high-pressure switch, does not recommend water-cooled systems on a city water supply, and specifies copper straight tube connections for the cooling water inlet and outlet. The Wine Guardian ducted specifications sheet gives the D088 column 1.20 GPM at a 20°F rise, a 0.08 PSI pressure drop and a 0.50 inch outside-diameter connection; have the installing contractor verify the loop can actually deliver them alongside whatever else it serves.
Built-in protection: the system checks conditions continuously through remote air sensing and adjusts before temperature or humidity drift can affect the collection.
Wine Guardian does not publish a single decibel rating for its ducted units, because the dominant noise factor is placement: the D088WC installs outside the wine room and connects through insulated ductwork, so the compressor and fans are not in the space you occupy. Rejecting heat to water rather than air also removes the condenser air stream that a comparable air-cooled unit has to move and exhaust somewhere.
Wine Guardian publishes the D088 platform in two voltage columns, 208 V and 230 V, so every capacity and current figure below is tagged with the voltage it belongs to. The capacity ladder is published against condenser inlet temperature on the Wine Guardian ducted specifications sheet; the safe condenser inlet water temperature range for the water-cooled section is published separately as 45°F to 85°F.
Minimum circuit ampacity and the electric heat rating are printed on the Wine Guardian ducted specifications sheet as combined heat and no-heat values and are not reproduced here. Take both from that sheet and have a licensed electrician size the circuit, the disconnect and the overcurrent protection. The 125 lb weight and the 41.5 in x 22.5 in x 19 in dimensions above are the figures Wine Guardian publishes for the D088WC in the Additional Information table on its own product page; they describe the unit and its cabinet, not the crated shipping weight, so confirm the shipping weight with Wine Guardian before rigging is planned or freight is booked.
Accessory availability and pricing are confirmed on each live product page. An integrated or freestanding Wine Guardian humidifier can be added to reach 55% to 65% relative humidity. Water-loop piping, valves and any circulator are supplied and installed by the contractor making the connection.
The D088WC and the air-cooled D088 cool identically; they differ only in where the heat goes and what the building must already provide.
| Decision factor | D088WC (water-cooled) | D088 (air-cooled) | D200WC (water-cooled) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the heat goes | Into a building water loop | Into the surrounding air | Into a building water loop |
| What the site must already have | A year-round water supply between 45°F and 85°F | A space that can absorb and ventilate the exhaust heat | A year-round water supply between 45°F and 85°F |
| Trades needed to install | Refrigeration, electrical and plumbing | Refrigeration and electrical | Refrigeration, electrical and plumbing |
| Rated capacity at 230 V, 80°F condenser inlet | 9,600 BTU/h | 9,600 BTU/h | 15,680 BTU/h |
Best for: choose the D088WC if the cellar has nowhere acceptable to reject heat into the air and a year-round water loop is already on site. Not ideal for: choose the air-cooled D088 if a ventilated space is available, because it delivers the same 9,600 BTU/h with no water connection and one fewer trade; choose the D200WC if the cellar is larger than the 088 class covers.
If you are still choosing a configuration, the full range of Wine Guardian water-cooled ducted cooling systems shows every capacity that rejects heat to a loop, and if you are working from room size instead, compare it against the other cooling units for cellars of 2,200 to 4,500 cubic feet.
WATER-COOLEDD050WC Water-Cooled UnitThe water-cooled step down for smaller cellars.View productWATER-COOLEDD200WC Water-Cooled UnitThe water-cooled step up for cellars beyond 4,500 cubic feet.View productAIR-COOLEDD088 Ducted UnitThe same capacity with no water loop and no plumbing.View productAIR-COOLEDD025 Ducted UnitCompact ducted cooling for small wine cellars.View productAIR-COOLEDD050 Ducted UnitMid-size ducted cooling for growing cellars.View productAIR-COOLEDD200 Ducted UnitMaximum ducted capacity for the largest cellars.View product
Compare the full water-cooled range or talk to us about whether your water loop can carry the D088WC. This guidance is general and is meant to help narrow the selection; final sizing, installation design, water-loop capacity and electrical requirements should be confirmed with Wine Guardian documentation and a licensed HVAC professional or qualified contractor.
Cooling Unit Options
