A method based on environmental monitoring and building dynamic simulation to assess indoor climate control strategies in the preventive conservation within historical buildings

Abstract

This paper proposes a multidisciplinary method to provide improved conservation strategy and thermal comfort for visitors in historical buildings. The method combines microclimate observations along with the dynamic simulation of the building and an empirical evaluation of the degradation of hygrosocopic artifacts. It was applied to a historic building in Priverno (Italy) where cracks along the tangential direction in valuable wooden ceilings were observed. The method produced an identification strategy for temperature control that, if applied, would reduce the total size of cracks from 0.25 mm to 0.10 mm.

Additional information

Funding

We thank Sapienza University of Rome for funding the multidisciplinary project “Preservation, conservation and valorisation of archaeological sites: The case of the ancient site Privernum”. This research has been carried out within the “Renovation of existing buildings in NZEB vision (nearly Zero Energy Buildings)” Project of National Interest (Progetto di Ricerca di Interesse Nazionale - PRIN) funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR).