Cornell University
IN-27: Innovation D

Museums are some of the most difficult buildings to make energy efficient because many of the art pieces need specific humidity and temperature conditions to be maintained. When the Johnson Museum of Art on Cornell's campus needed basic maintenance and air handling upgrades, Museum staff partnered with the campus's Energy Conservation Team to accelerate sustainability and preservation benefits. Upgrades, included a space-specific air handling mechanism, now ensure each gallery and storage space receives only the precise temperature and humidity needed for comfort and the collection and reduced overall energy use by 40% in the building (and 56% savings for heating). Additionally, the museum is a historic building which also made energy savings more challenging, but through a living laboratory partnership between our staff and faculty, we have implemented cutting edge improvements which drastically improved both our artistic preservation and energy use in this historical building. This project was completed in August 2016 and included “ultra-high-efficiency steam wands for humidification; controls for outdoor air ventilation; an all-new, fully automated logic control system and remote sensors throughout the museum. The air delivery system was changed to a variable (instead of constant) air volume system, “so each space gets what it needs to maintain temperature and humidity, for comfort and the collection,”” (Cornell Chronicle). In only a short time, the energy saving can already be seen. “As of April 17, energy use for cooling (chilled water) is down 56 percent for the year; heating (steam) has been reduced 26 percent; and electricity use has been lowered 22 percent, from the same period in 2016.” (Cornell Chronicle).