NEW HIGH PERFORMANCE HFC AIR CONDITIONING TO PRESERVE MICHELANGELOS FRESCOES IN THE SISTINE CHAPEL
As part of an effort to preserve Michelangelos frescoes in the Vatican Sistine Chapel, decorating the vaulted ceiling rising to 20.7m, a new HFC Air Conditioning system is being installed, replacing an early 1990 outdated system, which was designed to handle far fewer visitors.
The primary cooling source is a water-cooled water chiller unit, with a nominal output capacity of 210 kW. It will be twice as efficient as the existing one, and have three times its capacity, in order to cope with the huge increase of visitors to the chapel, reaching more than 6 million a year, bringing humidity, dust and dirt from the outside.
The system will use energy-saving technologies, ensuring close control of temperature and humidity levels. It is designed to minimize noise, being virtually unnoticeable to visitors, and to limit air motion around the paintings.
Suggested reading : An in-depth paper on the Sistine Chapel special requirements.
Source: WNPR News