Better conservation through wireless monitoring
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) in Pittsburgh preserves 22 million specimens and artifacts from natural history disciplines such as anthropology, paleontology, botany, ornithology, mammalogy and geology.
The museum exhibits include photographs, taxidermy specimens and bronze and wooden objects. In addition, the CMNH houses Diplodocus carnegii, the almost complete fossilized skeleton of a giant herbivorous dinosaur, which is used by paleontologists to identify other fossils of its kind.
These irreplaceable objects must be kept in strict and stable environmental conditions to prevent their deterioration. To review the existing environmental conditions of their collections, CMNH commissioned indoor environmental specialist Landmark Facilities Group (LFG) to conduct an indoor environmental survey. Due to the complexity of the buildings involved and the benefits of the HOBO line, LFG recommended the use of HOBO's ZW Series wireless data loggers to collect temperature and relative humidity data in the CMNH's 420,000 square feet of indoor space spread across three buildings.
Challenge
The CMNH's largest building is particularly difficult to monitor and maintain stable temperature and humidity because it consists of three separate buildings. In addition, the HVAC systems in the buildings consist of different makes and models installed at different times - some with dehumidifiers, some without. The main museum building, which was built in 1907, also lacks a vapor barrier and insulation. The main structure of the building is made of stone, steel and concrete, and as it is a listed building, only limited changes can be made to it. This includes the use of screws to fix conservation equipment to the walls in some areas. The museum has a glass roof, which makes controlling temperature and humidity even more difficult. Maintaining the museum standard of 40-50% relative humidity in all storage areas, preparation rooms and exhibition halls is a major challenge for Gretchen Anderson, the CMNH's conservator. Anderson also has to maintain a narrow temperature range of three degrees.
Problem solving
To overcome these challenges, LFG deployed 50 HOBO ZW Series wireless data nodes with integrated temperature and relative humidity sensors. The HOBO data nodes were chosen for their real-time data capability, compact size (suitable for discrete deployment), instant notification potential and built-in buffer memory to ensure no data was lost. Despite stone, brick and cement walls and an abundance of museum-quality metal collection cabinets, the wireless system works reliably. The data loggers monitor the entire CMNH building complex, from the basement to the attic. The nodes are mounted on the walls and in some cases also on the cabinets. Non-marking 3M adhesive strips were used to mount the data nodes in the historic museum rooms. A wireless node is placed outdoors to analyze how the temperature and humidity levels of the outside air affect the museum's indoor environment.
Result
With the installation of the new wireless monitoring solution, CMNH staff can now immediately detect, diagnose and fix HVAC system malfunctions. In just a few months, the sensors have already helped detect a faulty humidification system and a crack in a wall, both of which had contributed to high humidity levels. Before the new system was installed, staff could spend up to three weeks identifying similar problems, but now they can often pinpoint faults and restore environmental conditions in a matter of hours. Prior to implementing the wireless system, CMNH used a combination of standalone data loggers, drum hygrothermographs and portable digital monitors. "I had twenty stand-alone data loggers in use and it took me two or three days to transmit the data and generate environmental reports for the collection managers," says Anderson. "Now I have fifty wireless nodes deployed, and it takes me one day to generate the same reports. The CMNH staff especially appreciates the ability of HOBOware® software to display data from multiple data loggers on a single graph. This easy-to-use feature allows them to easily compare data sets. The museum curator can also export the raw data to an Excel® workbook template to create reports for collection managers and lenders.
Conclusion
In the future, CMNH plans to use HOBO data loggers for lighting and energy monitoring to meet the museum's energy efficiency goals. "Our recent environmental monitoring project is a test project that I hope will become a model for other museums so they can better preserve their collections," says Anderson. CMNH's wireless data collection project, funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services - Conservation Project Support, is a collaboration between the museum and Landmark Facilities Group.
Translated by www.DeepL.com/Translator