PRACTICES OF ENERGY EFFICIENT COLLECTION MANAGEMENT IN CALIFORNIA A Thesis submitted to the faculty of San Francisco State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements foi the Degree Master of Arts In Museum Studies by Aparna Suhas Dhole San Francisco, California Copyright by Apama Suhas Dhole 2019 ii CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read Practices o f Energy Efficient Collection Management in California by Apama Suhas Dhole, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Arts in Museum Studies at San Francisco State University. Luby, Professor of Museum Studies — 2 ^ Christine Forgarty, Lecturer of Museum Studies PPRACTICES OF ENERGY EFFICIENT COLLECTION MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN CALIFORNIA Apama Suhas Dhole San Francisco, California 2019 Museums are entrusted to preserve the artistic, scientific, and cultural achievement of humankind in the form of collections. As stewards of collections, museums work to provide optimal environmental conditions for the preservation of objects in their storage facilities, while aiming to create a sustainable future. In this thesis, the environmental sustainability and energy efficiency of museum collections care in California is investigated by focusing on Heat, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems in museums. A survey of 100 museums in California that have a collections storage facility was conducted, resulting in a response rate of 62%. Key themes of energy efficient prac :es and resources for sustainability used by museums in California are discussed and then a set of conclusions and recommendations is presented. It is concluded that although there is need for more research regarding energy-efficient storage facility for museum collections, museum in California are making important contributions towards sustainability. I certify that the Abstract is a correct representation of the content of this thesis. Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this thesis could not have been done without the generous assistance of Professors Edward Luby, Chairman of the Museum Studies Department, and Christine Fogarty. In addition, I would like to thank all affiliated staff of the Museum Studies Department of San Francisco State University, who lent their limitless resources to the culmination of this project. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables.............................................................................................................................. viii List of Figures................................................................................................................................ix List of Appendices..........................................................................................................................x Introduction......................................................................................................................................1 Literature Review: Collection Management and HVAC systems.......................................... 5. Mechanical components of HVAC systems.................................................................. 5 Use of climate control systems........................................................................................6 Environmental factors that affect the deterioration of objects.................................... 6 Guidelines for environmental systems in museum collection facilities....................10 Literature Review: Energy Efficient Collection Management..............................................13 Planning for energy efficiency.............................................................................. 13 Methods to reduce energy consumption......................................................................16 M ethods.........................................................................................................................................21 Results........................................................................................................................................... 28 Part I. Demographic information.................................................................................. 29 Part II: Museum p olicies...............................................................................................33 Part III: Sust^nable practices........................................................................................39 Part IV: Planning for sustainability ............................................................................ 45 Discussions................................................................................................................................... 55 Analysis of survey sections........................................................................................... 55 Key Themes of the Results........................................................................................... 57 vi Conclusions and Recommendations.......................................................................................... 61 Summary of survey results............................................................................................ 61 Conclusions......................................................................................................................62 Recommendations........................................................................................................... 64 Closing Comments.......................................................................................................... 67 Reference................................................................................................................. 68 Appendices........................................................................................................................................ LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Survey response rate...............................................................................................28 2. Results of Question 4 ............................................................................................. 33 LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page 1. Museum Types..................................................................................................................30 2. Size of the Collection....................................................................................................... 31 3. Annual Budget for Collections Management.............................................................. 32 4. Collection Facility that was Originally Built for Collections.................................... 35 5. Renovation of Collections Management Facility.........................................................36 6. Planning for Energy Efficiency in Renovation of Collections Management Facility................................................................................................................................37 7. Changes Made During Renovation.................................................................................38 8 Collections Unit that Track Local Temperature...........................................................39 9. Tracking Outside Temperature to Adjust HVAC Controls........................................40 10. Energy Audits....................................................................................................................41 11. Frequency of Energy Audits............................................................................................42 12. Tracking Energy Consumption of HVAC Unit............................................................43 13. Tracking Energy Consumption to Adjust HVAC Controls........................................44 14. Future Plans for Sustainability........................................................................................ 46 15. Professional Resources on Sustainability......................................................................47 16. Organizations that Staff Attended for Spec al Training on Sustainability...............49 17. Most Recent Update to Collections Management Policy........................................... 50 18. Updates to Sustainability in Collections Management Policy....................................51 19. Sustainability-Related Updates to the Collection Management policy.................... 52 20. Rating for Institution’s Approach to Sustainability..................................................... 53 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page 1. Appendix 1: Cover Letter for Survey..........................................................................71 2. Appendix 2: Survey Questions.......................................................................... 73 3. Appendix 3: List of Survey Recipients.......................................................................77 x 1 Chapter 1 Introduction Museums are entrusted to preserve the artistic, scientific, and cultural achievements of humankind in the form of collections. To meet this important responsibility, museums are tasked with the stewardship of objects. Sound stewardship of collections requires that collections are preserved under appropriate environmental conditions, which is often a challenge, given the sometimes limited budgets of museums and the need for expensive environmental control systems. If collections are not housed in appropriate environments, however, they begin to deteriorate, which results in a significant loss for humanity. As stewards of collections,