Conservation Heating to Control Relative Humidity and Create Museum Indoor Conditions in a Monumental Building

Abstract

For the conservation of an important museum collection in a historic building a better controlled indoor climate may be necessary. One of the most important factors is controlling relative humidity. Museum collections often are part of the interior of a historic building. In most cases the installation of an expensive air-conditioning system may cause damage to the building and its historic authenticity. Furthermore humidifying may lead to dramatic indoor air conditions with mould and condensation effects on the cold indoor surfaces or even internal condensation in the construction. One way to overcome this problem is to make use of so-called ‘conservation heating’. A humidistat to limit relative humidity controls the heating system. Conservation heating control was tested in an experimental setup in the laboratory and experience was gained in a historic building in the Netherlands. Control strategies and regimes were tested both by experiment and by simulation. The simulation model is validated by measurements. In the historic building the indoor climate was monitored during a long period. The preservation conditions of the indoor climate on the collection and the monumental building were evaluated. The indoor climate for preservation of a monumental building and its monumental interior may be improved by conservation heating. The human comfort however may decline. Furthermore it is a simple and energy efficient system which requires low maintenance.

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