Rob Thomson

The art and science of preventing problems before they happen – whether the problems might be caused by incorrect temperature, relative humidity, too much light or a risk of insect pest damage.

Museums and historic houses need to get environmental conditions right but also need to control utility bills. The right targets and the right control equipment usually means that energy consumption can be dramatically cut at the same time as giving museum grade conditions.

Research into improving the environment of a museum usually starts with environmental monitoring to establish the facts. Temperature, relative humidity, light levels and insect pests are the usual parameters that are monitored. Less often investigation is into other factors such as vibration levels, carbon dioxide or visitor numbers.

Temperature and relative humidity need to be appropriate for a building. Sometimes this involves checking the effectiveness of an air conditioning system, more often it involves installing a simpler conservation heating system.

I advise on the deterioration of historic stonework – whether freestanding masonry or part of a building. The science of stone deterioration is often closely related to relative humidity levels.

There are a few different suppliers of environmental monitoring equipment and environmental control equipment (Hanwell, Meaco, Eltec, Tinytag, Rotronic). Each is slightly different and sometimes more suitable than the others. I offer impartial advice as to which is most suitable for a particular application. I can also offer advice as to which heaters and dehumidifiers are most suitable.