An assessment was conducted by the Royal Museums Greenwich. It was the first time to test an energy-saving strategy to control environmental conditions in the permanent exhibition spaces of the institution during the pandemic. The museums’ preventative conservator utilised the lock-down periods as an opportunity to set a range of temperature and relative humidity to aim only for the preservation of the collection without considering human comfort and the results were astonishing. Comparing years 2019 and 2020 there was a 44% decrease on energy consumption and CO2 emission, and savings of £140,000. The data included the total amount of KwH consumed and CO2 emissions for the entire building including air conditioning, illumination, IT equipment and other office equipment. Altering the environmental conditions had no impact on the well-being of the artifacts and artworks. This is a helpful case study, demonstrating how museums and galleries can reduce their carbon footprint to tackle the climate crisis.
Courtesy and ©Royal Museum Greenwich, Maria Bastidas, UKRG and Renée Pfister Art & Gallery Consultancy, 2021.
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