(7) Climate Control and Conservation in Museums

Here you will find guidelines and plans by museums and galleries looking for ways to reduce their operating expenses and carbon footprint and improve their long-term sustainability by using appropriate technologies, products, and systems.

New Interactive Tool for Museums to Explore Energy- and Cost-Reducing Scenarios That Support Collections Care: The Min/Max interactive Dashboard is a new resource for museum collections and facilities staff who want to explore how changes to temperature and relative humidity (T/RH) conditions can reduce energy use and costs, while maintaining appropriate collection conditions. By testing different scenarios variable by geographical climate zone, building HVAC systems, square footage, and other factors, organizations can view the estimated impacts of broadened T/RH and support more informed, site-specific decision-making. Findings from the project’s building energy model demonstrate that broader environmental parameters can reduce energy use by 11%–26% and associated costs within temperature ranges of approximately 61°F to 77°F and relative humidity between 40% and 60%, when managed within controlled fluctuation limits—this is appropriate for many collection object types. This tool is part of the Min/Max project, a national research effort funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and led by Environment & Culture Partners (ECP) in partnership with New Buildings Institute (NBI) and A2 Efficiency.

Managing Collection Environments: Technical Notes and Guidance is a suite of sixteen technical notes from eleven authors presenting a holistic perspective on the sustainable environmental management of collections in museums, galleries, archives, and libraries. By the Getty Conservation Institute, 2023.

Getting Climate Control Under Control Declaration. Declaration initiated by Tino Sehgal, ART 2030, and Ki Culture in 2023. One of the most energy intensive aspects of the art and cultural world is climate control. Climate control can be responsible for 60% or more of the energy consumption of a museum or gallery! By changing climate control conditions, museums could save between 24% up to 82% on their energy consumption. And many museums are using conditions that are not tailored to their collections, consuming energy unnecessarily. It is clear that this is the most urgent practice to address to significantly lower the carbon footprint of the sector.