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Ducting Best Practice Guidelines

Do I need insulated or uninsulated ducting?
Cold-side ducting requires insulation to minimize heat loss through the ducting. Hot-side ducting does not require insulation unless the entire cooling unit is inside the cellar, and the hot-side ducting begins inside the cellar. In this scenario, the following are required to minimize heat transfer inside the cellar from the ducting:

  • The ducting must be insulated
  • The hood must be insulated
  • The openings at the bottom of the hood must be sealed

Can I reduce or change the size of the ducting?
The size of the ducting is stated in terms of diameter, and is specifically designed for each cooling unit. The size of the ducting cannot be reduced or restricted in any way, and must remain fully open from start to finish, including any turns.

Where should I place the cold-side exhaust and intake inside the cellar?
We recommend placing the cold-side intake and exhaust in the ceiling where they will be unobstructed and receive unrestricted airflow. The exhaust duct always should be near the ceiling inside the cellar, whereas the intake duct can be located near the top or the bottom of the cellar, whichever is most convenient. If possible, we recommend separating the exhaust and intake so that the exhaust does not enter the intake and cause the cooling unit to short-cycle.

Must I exhaust the hot-side exhaust to the exterior, or can I drop it into interior space?
Either will work. Assuming the space outside the cellar is at least as large as the cellar, you shouldn't feel a significant impact from the hot air exhaust. The other consideration is noise, which should be relatively slight as the length of the duct run increases.

Can I pull hot-side fresh air intake from exterior?
Different cooling units can handle different fresh-air intake temperatures, so it's always best to pull the hot-side fresh air intake from a temperature-controlled environment (other than the cellar - the hot-side intake must never come from the cellar), and if the hot-side exhaust will be exhausted to a different location, always make sure that both spaces are sufficiently voluminous so that you don't run into issues with negative pressure. If you must pull the hot-side air intake from the exterior and temperatures drop below 40F in your locale, make sure to order the cooling unit with a compressor heater (which is automatically included with exterior units.)

How do I decide between Low RH vs High RH duct kits?
If you live in a humid or moderately humid location, you should purchase the High-RH duct kit, because it includes extra insulation on the front half of the cooling unit, as well as on the duct adapters, to mitigate the formation of condensation on the outside of the cooling unit.

How do I know when the hood is correctly attached to the cooling unit?
Inside the hood is a plenum that separates the hot-side air intake and exhaust. In order to work effectively, the hood must be pushed until this plenum comes into solid contact with the rear of the cooling unit, so that air bypass (from the hot-side exhaust to the fresh air intake) doesn't occur.

How do I install rear ducting on 1800 units?
Rear Duct Installation Guide (pdf)

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