Preservation Environment Improvement Project - Temperature and Dehumidification

FAIN: PF-287567-22

Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY 42101-1000)
Sandra L. Staebell (Project Director: January 2022 to November 2023)
Tiffany Isselhardt (Project Director: November 2023 to present)

A planning project to revise operating protocols for existing climate control systems, integrating findings into the museum’s Preservation Environment Improvement Plan (PEIP), which would inform future modifications and upgrades.   

This project will engineer, program, and commission revised operating protocols for existing climate control systems and study the results of said adjustment as part of the Museum's multi-phase Preservation Environment Improvement Plan (PEIP). Specifically, this project will stabilize temperatures in the Kentucky Room and modify the dehumidification controls for the 1976 building, which were deemed low-cost, effective strategies for achieving relative humidity and temperature setpoints in the Museum's exhibitions spaces, quilt storage, and fine art storage. The project team will then study the results over a one-year period, comparing the new readings to historical data to determine if the desired targets are achieved, and integrate findings into the PEIP. The results will inform planned future steps of the PEIP, notably the review and selection of large-scale, high-cost mechanical system upgrades.