ENERGIEFFEKTIVISERING MED HJÄLP AV STANDARDER FÖR INOMHUSKLIMAT PÅ MUSEER

Abstract

Preventive conservation is a large part of the work to preserve cultural heritage and is about creating as gentle an environment for the objects as possible. In order to minimize the risk of climate-related degradation, museums use various standards and guidelines that allow only small fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity. Maintaining such a climate requires a lot of energy in the form of air conditioning systems and other control systems. High energy consumption then results in high costs for museum operations and has a negative environmental impact. How high a museum's energy consumption is depends on many different factors, and cannot be generalized. It is influenced, among other things, by the type of control system, the building's age and design, as well as how insulated it is and where in the country it is located. As a consequence of the fact that museums are spread over several different climate zones, have different types of museum buildings and different collections, museums have different ways to achieve energy-efficient long-term collection care. Museums that strive to do so can use guidance from various standards. The study presents six standards used for climate control in museums. These are the ASHRAE handbook, PAS 18:2012, EN 15757:2010, EN 15759-1:2011, EN 15759-2:2018 and the Bizot Green Protocol. It also discusses the dilemma of standards. A strict standard often specifies various roles, skills, motivations, requirements, tools, and results as common factors that should be met by users of the standard. At any time, any of these factors may not play out in the way that the creators of the standards intended, and the standard may then fail or may morph into a new form. Flexible standards contain more information and have a higher comparability. They are also used for a longer period and are more widely adopted by users. The risk with a flexible standard is that it can lose its important position as a governing document when it allows the user to make too many decisions. The ASHRAE handbook, PAS 18:2012, EN 15757:2010, EN 15759-1:2011, EN 15759-2:2018 and the Bizot Green Protocol sorted according to flexibility. The study presents a proposal for future standards.