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ClimaSpec

Stefan Michalski and Simon Lambert

ClimaSpec is part of the Canadian Conservation Institute’s Climate Guidelines. It is a tool that provides temperature and relative humidity (RH) recommendations tailored to the type of collection at hand. Since air filtration is always a consideration in climate control systems, ClimaSpec also includes recommendations about pollutants.

In the past, climate guidelines for museums and archives were rigid specifications that ignored financial and environmental costs. They also provided no sense of exactly what risks you could expect in spaces with lower levels of climate control. ClimaSpec supports a risk management perspective. It answers the following questions: what are the big risks to collections from incorrect temperature and incorrect RH, and what climate control targets make the most sense for both preservation and sustainability?

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the following CCI conservators, conservation scientists and preventive conservation advisors for their valuable contributions throughout the development of this tool: Evelyn Ayre, Wendy Baker, Marie-Lou Beauchamp, Monique Benoit, Marianne Breault, Renée Dancause, Anne-Stéphanie Etienne, Eric Hagan, Victor Hiromatsu Hatai Ribeiro, Irene Karsten, Mark Kearney, Crystal Maitland, Christine McNair, Marie-Hélène Nadeau, Charlotte Parent, Jill Plitnikas, Amanda Salmon, Jean Tétreault (retired) and Janet Wagner.

The authors would also like to thank the professionals from various heritage institutions whose insights and feedback helped shape the tool’s content: Fiona Anthes (Library and Archives Canada), Jill Baron and Jessica MacLean (Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute), Lesley Caseley (PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation), George Chisholm (Oakville Historical Society), Amy Crist (Sustainability Committee of the American Institute for Conservation), Marjolijn Debulpaep (Brussels City Museum), Andrée C. Godin (Musée acadien de l’Université de Moncton), Marie-Hélène Foisy (National Gallery of Canada), Fiona Graham (private practice), Carrie Kitzul (Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives), Jessica Kotierk (Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum), John Moses (Canadian Museum of History), Marisa Purdy (Burlington Public Library), Karine Savary (Mhist – Musée d'histoire de Sherbrooke), and Erin Secord (Ingenium).

Finally, a very special thank you to Catherine Antomarchi, as well as to Lindsay Bach, Andy Coughlin, Mélissa Dufour, Margaret Gracie and Rachelle Laplaine from CCI’s Knowledge Sharing Division, and Alain Deschamps, Mikaël Desrochers and Nicolas Dussault-Pilon from the Canadian Heritage Chief Information Officer Branch.

You will need to make a selection from three drop-down menus in the “ClimaSpec inputs” section below:

  • Type of object or collection
  • Subtypes related to mechanical sensitivity to fluctuations in climate
  • Subtypes related to chemical decay or other deterioration issues

When all three selections have been made, ClimaSpec will give you recommendations on the following topics:

  • Climate control (ASHRAE types of control and enclosures)
  • Sustainability and carbon footprint issues
  • Danger boundaries of temperature and RH
  • Baselines of temperature and RH (annual averages)
  • Sensitivity of objects to fluctuations in temperature and RH
  • Response time of objects to fluctuations in temperature and RH
  • Sensitivity of objects to pollutants and recommended control
  • Approximate lifetime of organic materials at room conditions (near 20°C and 50% RH)

ClimaSpec estimates of object lifetimes at room temperature can vary. The lifetimes may be up to three times shorter or longer than those stated. Likewise, when choosing a lower temperature and lower RH, the subsequent lifetime improvement may not be as great as predicted by ClimaSpec, especially for temperatures below 10°C. Consult Figure 2 in “Explanation of the mould and lifetime calculators” for the range in uncertainty.

Once you have made your selections, two calculators that provide additional recommendations may appear at the bottom of the page:

  • A lifetime calculator for organic materials that benefit from colder and dryer conditions
  • A mould calculator for relative humidities above 65%

ClimaSpec inputs

Select one option from each of the three drop-down menus below to access your customized ClimaSpec recommendations. For an explanation of the “proofed fluctuations” concept, consult Appendix B: Sensitivity to fluctuations and the application of proofed fluctuations in the “Climate guidelines overview.”



If you are unsure which subtypes apply, select each in turn and find your objects in the examples below.


If you are unsure which subtypes apply, select each in turn and find your objects in the examples below.


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