Better Use of Showcases for Preservation and Sustainability

Understanding an object’s exact sensitivity towards its environment is critical for sustainability. This, and the building’s performance, determine the amount of conditioning required in the showcase. Audit results have been combined with a critical literature survey to inform a research programme to generate such information. Methods to determine air exchange rate reliably have allowed the development of simple spreadsheets to predict showcase performance from the room’s environment. Real data from 500 showcases have been used to test the predictions. Predictions were made for present and future carbon footprints. The approach has reduced English Heritage’s carbon footprint significantly for this aspect of preventive conservation.