Environmental monitoring and microclimatic control strategies in “La Specola” museum of Florence

This paper presents the results of the environmental monitoring of some rooms of the “La Specola” Museum in Florence and the evaluation of possible solar gain control strategies in two sample rooms of the Museum. Environmental monitoring analysis pointed out some relevant overheating problem in summer especially when daylighting is guaranteed by large skylights without efficient solar shadings. Solar gain control strategies evaluation has been carried out with a dynamic thermal simulation tool and compared with the monitoring results. Different solar shading systems were evaluated considering their position. Moreover solar control glasses have been evaluated as a possible solution to improve architectural integration with the historical contest. In order to ensure an optimal compromise between the environmental conditions suitable to exhibits preservations and visitors’ thermal comfort, the evaluation of different strategies has been expressed in terms of thermal index and comfort index. The results of this study can be extended to several historical buildings in Florence, where large windows and skylights cause high energy consumption and poor indoor comfort conditions.