An Original Approach to Active Climate Control Based on Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC) as Set Point in a Middle-Age Building in Palermo, Italy

2019

In the frame of a more sustainable approach to climate control, a long term strategy has been developed and is under advanced phase of implementation by technical staff of the University of Palermo in an important building, Palazzo Steri, owned by the University. The monumental room under climate control, the Sala dei Baroni (also known as Sala Magna), has a precious wooden ceiling where the previously loadbearing elements are covered with wooden painted panels. Many of them, painted in the fourteenth c, underwent important restorations in the past due to climate related damage (cracks, warpings, paint layer delamination) and biological infestations. The room is currently undergoing an impo…