Temperature paremeters for a Schantz pipe organ

[Guest]

We have a Shantz Pipe Organ in our sanctuary that was refurbished a few years ago that actually gets very little usage. Maybe one song per Sunday.

We, like many congregations are looking for ways to save energy (money) and there seems to be many different ideas of proper room temperature and humidity. We recently had an energy audit done by our electric supplier (TVA) and were told that since our building has several zones (spaces) to heat and cool we can save considerable energy by closing doors and heating/cooling individual spaces when not in use.

If we were to close the sanctuary doors, where organ is located, what would be the minimum and maximum safe temperatures permissible be? Also the humidity? Since this organ was installed in the 40’s, here in Tennessee, certainly heating and cooling requirements were not as stringent at that time?

Also is it true that if an organ is tuned at a certain temperature it goes out of tune but when it gets back to that temperature it comes back in tune?

In the minds of many it makes no sense to maintain a consistent room temperature of 68 degrees as the space is used for a few hours per week. Any help is much appreciated.

[Menschenstimme]

We are in southern California and have a Schantz III/72. Actually, temperature concerns are virtually the same for any pipe organ. We only "climate control" our church when it is occupied. We do activate the system ahead of time. The organ is usually at about 72 degrees while it is being used and is adequately in tune with itself most of the time. If a pipe organ's temperature changes slowly, it will usually stay enough in tune with itself to sound acceptable. If you want its absolute pitch to be accurate, then it needs to be at the same temperature at which it was tuned to absolute pitch. California is probably easier on pipe organs than Tennessee because we tend to cool off more at night even during hot spells. One should exercise good stewardship over any pipe organ, while remaining realistic about issues such as perfect absolute pitch and tuning. Our organ sounds just fine most of the time.

By the way, I believe that the utility bills for the entire church (just the church - not the other facilities) is about $60,000 per year. And it is worth every dollar both to be comfortable and to keep the organ comfortable also. As one wise pastor once said: "Comfortable people put more money in the collection basket." AMEN!

[Terpodion]

>Also is it true that if an organ is tuned at a certain temperature it goes out of tune but when it gets back to that temperature it comes back in tune?<

Yes.

I'll tell you the same thing I tell my customers: As long as the organ is at the same temperature at which it is tuned, it will be in tune. However, the amount of time it will take for the air in the important parts of the instrument to come to the proper temperature - the pipes - varies depending on many factors; the nature of the installation, the amount of air circulation, is the organ in a case or chambers? Are there exterior walls in the chambers? How many ranks of reeds are there?

The flue pipes change at a different rate than the reed pipes so in general, it takes longer for the reeds to come to pitch with the flues.

A small encased organ with one rank of reeds might only take a hour or less to come back to the way the tuner left it if the HVAC system is efficient. A large, elaborate organ in chambers with uninsulated exterior walls in a building with an old, inefficient system might take three or more hours.

Leaving the heat turned off during the winter when the organ is not in use will not damage the organ. In fact, it will be beneficial - particularly to an electro-pneumatic organ, which is full of perishable leather. It is like putting it in a refrigerator. The summer heat and humidity will, of course, do the opposite. I curate a 1904 organ which has never been rebuilt and is in in excellent shape. It is in a "summer church" which goes unheated during the winter. Only now are the leather parts starting to show signs of failure.

You have to take into consideration your particular situation. Experimentation with the organ and HVAC system will give you the answer after some trial.

[VaPipeorgantuner]

The ideal is to maintain the temperature at which the organ is tuned. It is true that if you let the temperature drop (in winter) or rise (in summer), then return the organ to the temperature at which it was tuned, it will >mostly< come back....more so with cone-tuned pipes than with slide tuned pipes. The consideration is, however, that it takes a lot of time for the organ to acclimate to it's "new" temperature, especially if the temperature differential is more than a few degrees F. One danger of 'forcing' heat into a cold (un-conditioned) room is the possibility that the relative humidity will change rapidly, and this humidity cycling has the potential to cause costly damage to the wood components in the organ, and the woodwork in general in the building. The key is SLOWLY raising the temperature of the room over several hours (1 hour for each degree of change in temperature F), and maintaining the temperature at that temperature for AT LEAST four hours prior to the use of the organ, so that it has the best chance of coming back into tune.

One other consideration is that if the room has masonry walls, the thermal mass of the cold walls will radiate cold back into the room and the room will never quite feel comfortable to those sitting in the room. This is less true of plaster or sheetrock walls that are insulated from the exterior structure. The truth is that if you get a room warm, keeping it warm is less costly over time than forcing a room to change 20 degrees every weekend, as the heating system has to really work hard to overcome that big of a temperature differential.

If the decision were mine, I would say that during off times, the sanctuary should not be allowed to drop more than about 10 degrees from it's "in-use" temperature. that is a reasonable compromise. As far as humidity, most church HVAC systems are not set up to maintain a constant humidity...but 35 - 40 % RH is about right. That is the range at which most people will feel comfortable, and the organ will be happy AS LONG AS it is not subjected to rapid changes in RH.

Rick in VA