Open Forum

Christin,

In addition to any other answers you might receive, you may also get good advice from the FAIC/IMLS/Samuel Kress Foundation discussion list and resource, Connecting to Collections Care. There's a wealth of information available on the website, and an excellent discussion list as well.

Hope this is helpful information.

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Martha Katz-Hyman
Independent Curator
Newport News, VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-02-2025 01:06 PM
From: Christin Byrum
Subject: HISTORIC HOUSE HVAC with HUMIDITY CONTROL

All -  I welcome any thoughts or advice from those with recent experience installing an HVAC system with humidity control in an Historic House museum. Interested in the pros and cons of specific systems in regard to balancing the needs of the structure, people and collections.  Thank you in advance.

 

Christin Byrum

Director of Museums

Oglebay Institute

Wheeling, WV

Hi Christin.

You should talk to a local architect or maybe there's a municipal officer who wouldn't mind paying you a visit.

Plug-in dehumidifiers have a lot of benefits. They do need a floor drain or sump pump to be relatively maintenance-free, however.

Mini-splits have become a popular way to manage temperature and humidity room-by-room and I've seen them in a lot in historic structures with commercial uses. A mini-split is far less invasive than duct work and cost effective.

An architect who knows a bit about local building history might be able to address the house's original climate control system - sometimes historic passive systems can be upgraded with something on the order of an attic or crawlspace fan.

Question proposals that offer to condition only a part of the house. Changing the environment of a basement, for example, has an effect on the levels above, sometimes difficult to predict. Doesn't rule it out. 

I am intimately familiar with a historic house museum near me in Michigan (land of mildew-y cellars) that was moved and placed on a modern basement with museum storage-grade conditioning, and it's truly wonderful. They can keep textiles in the basement, safely.

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Jason Stevens
Principal
Flutter & Wow Museum Projects
Ann Arbor MI
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-02-2025 01:06 PM
From: Christin Byrum
Subject: HISTORIC HOUSE HVAC with HUMIDITY CONTROL

All -  I welcome any thoughts or advice from those with recent experience installing an HVAC system with humidity control in an Historic House museum. Interested in the pros and cons of specific systems in regard to balancing the needs of the structure, people and collections.  Thank you in advance.

 

Christin Byrum

Director of Museums

Oglebay Institute

Wheeling, WV

Hello Christin,

Martha and Jason certain made good points in their comments. Climate control is a huge and intricate subject, and I might begin by saying, "It depends." For example, air and water intrusion in your building might be creating problems that are unidentified at present. Do your have energy-efficient windows? Is rainwater carried far away from your building (online pictures suggest your downspouts drain close to the foundation). Do you have data logger information throughout the building over a one-year or longer period? These are just a few examples of things to examine to help sort out the indoor climate.

I worked for an organization that owned dozens of old buildings, many with climate control issues. In one mid-size building, we found that installing a "whole-house" style dehumidifier in the basement worked well, even when streams of water were running across the floor; the high humidity in the floors above was largely eliminated. In sme storage places in a very large building, large portable dehumidifiers worked very well, while in large public areas the performance of the respective air handlers varied from one to another. It was a long process of searching for the sources of humidity, and subsequent remediation of the building envelope.

I could go on for pages with all sorts of anecdotal material, but my point is that there is a lot to consider when planning for improvements to your  climate control. It is best to engage an expert to analyze your situation, and likely another expert to develop the system (and perhaps structural work) to meet your needs. In the real world that sort of approach is not always possible, but I think that creating one or more systems over time is better than nothing. And by all means, document what you learn, details of all equipment (and maintenance), and the performance of the system(s).

Pleasse feel freee to contact me directly if I may be of help.

Best,

Bruce <abmacleis@verizon.net>

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Bruce MacLeish
Curator Emeritus, Newport Restoration Foundation
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-02-2025 01:06 PM
From: Christin Byrum
Subject: HISTORIC HOUSE HVAC with HUMIDITY CONTROL

All -  I welcome any thoughts or advice from those with recent experience installing an HVAC system with humidity control in an Historic House museum. Interested in the pros and cons of specific systems in regard to balancing the needs of the structure, people and collections.  Thank you in advance.

 

Christin Byrum

Director of Museums

Oglebay Institute

Wheeling, WV