Many museums continue to operate under fixed temperature and humidity setpoints (70°F / 50% RH), often at significant energy cost and operational effort. At the same time, there's growing interest in more flexible approaches-driven by both sustainability goals and evolving conservation standards.
This month's Cultural Facility Shared Practice Meeting will explore how institutions are beginning to navigate that shift.
The session will highlight:
- Research from Eindhoven University of Technology on dynamic climate control and its impact on both energy use and preventive conservation
- Real-world case studies from museums achieving 30–70% reductions in air handling energy
- Practical considerations around moving away from rigid setpoints, including risk, implementation complexity, and internal alignment
One of the key topics will be how facilities teams can work within existing infrastructure-without requiring major system replacement-to better balance preservation needs with operational realities.
If you're currently evaluating climate strategies, energy use, or system upgrades, this should be a useful discussion.
📅 April 28, 2026
🕘 12:00 pm ET / 9:00 am PT
More details and registration: https://facilityissues.com/ci-sp-26-04/
Curious to hear how others in the community are approaching this-especially around balancing conservation requirements with energy and operational constraints.
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Joseph Upjohn MBA
Museum Energy Consultant
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