Assessment of thermo-hygrometric indicators for preventive conservation inside museums: In field monitoring and passive microclimatic control strategies applied to "la Specola" museum of Florence

The University of Florence has equipped one of the most representative Florentine historical Museum, “La Specola”, of a specific microclimatic monitoring system installed in some rooms. The paper presents the results of one-year record of temperature and relative humidity, regarding a room and its showcases. The elaboration and analysis of the microclimatic data have been carried out according to the Italian Standard UNI 10829 and the Performance Index of the most important thermo-hygrometric parameters has been calculated and assessed. Moreover, a dynamic thermal simulation to assess the effectiveness of some passive refurbishment strategies has been carried out in terms of annual and monthly Performance Index and dry bulb temperature variations. The results can be extended to several historical buildings, where poor envelope performances and large windows or skylights imply not acceptable indoor environmental conditions that can even cause damage to the artefacts.