Effects of skylights refurbishment on the indoor hygrothermal environment of a gallery space in a historical building of cultural significance

Fan Wang, Y. Zhang, S. Ganguly, M. Browne

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Skylights play a crucial rule in galleries, museums and libraries, as they provide natural lighting to the interior spaces of these buildings. But on the thermal side, they present some problems due to their high U-values, such as excessive heat loses, low surface temperature that increases risk of condensation. Among them, the most problematic one is the diurnal fluctuation of the indoor air temperature and relative humidity, especially to gallery spaces that require stable hygrothermal condition for conservation purpose of the artefacts on display. This increases both the risk of damage to the artefacts and the energy consumed by the HVAC system when a tight control is applied.

This paper reports a systematic study on an assessment of the effects of skylights refurbishment on the indoor hygrothermal environment of a gallery space in a national gallery building housed in a historical building of architectural significance. A CFD model was developed and calibrated by two sets of measured data: one collected before the refurbishment and the other after. The model was used to simulate six representative scenarios of normal operation of the gallery for both before and after the refurbishment. In parallel, a quantitative assessment is developed to analysis the modelling data and assess the impacts of the refurbishment and quality of the indoor hygrothermal conditions. The results are presented in the fashion of the environmental variables deviations verse the height and comparison before and after the refurbishment. This would allow designers and gallery curators to determine the suitable height for displaying the humidity sensitive paintings according to the quality of skylights and the degree of tightness of hygrothermal control.

As a part of a three-year research project of renovation of Scottish national gallery building, this work is expected to produce some useful guidance for developing renovation solutions for historical buildings as a part of the campaign of carbon reduction and building conservation and quantitative methods for post-refurbishment assessment
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationWEENTECH Proceedings in Energy
EditorsAshish Shukla
PublisherWorld Energy and Environment Technology Ltd.
Pages65-73
Number of pages9
Volume1
ISBN (Electronic)9780993279508
Publication statusPublished - 2015

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