Christ's Hospital School, Horsham - England

Project details

Industries

Musical instruments, Concert halls and organs

Products

Condair CP3 Mini

Technologies

Steam humidification

Humidity control for organ at Christ's Hospital School in England

Condair has supplied a Condair CP3 steam humidifier to humidify the school hall organ at Christ’s Hospital School near Horsham, ensuring it resonates correctly and remains in tune whatever the weather.

The organ in Christ’s Hospital’s ‘Big School’ is of huge historical importance and great artistic merit. It has its roots in an organ built in 1830 by Elliot & Hill and around 25% of the current pipes date from the original instrument. It was substantially renovated in 1902 and then again in 2012 when a specialist in organ restoration recommended installing humidification and suggested Christ’s Hospital talks to Condair because of the company’s expertise in this area.

More about Condair EL

Large pipe organs need to have the humidity maintained within their organ chambers in order to preserve the wooden sound boards and sliders. If the air in the organ chamber becomes dry then it will draw moisture from the surrounding wood causing it to suffer dimensional changes. This can cause the sliders to warp and stick, resulting in an unresponsive instrument. By maintaining 55% relative humidity (%RH), the wood is in equilibrium with the air and it retains its moisture content and shape. This is often achieved with small capacity steam humidifiers, like the Condair CP3, which feed steam directly into an organ chamber through a fan unit.

Peter Dutton, the school organist at Christ’s Hospital commented: “Condair clearly had experience in working with such ancient and delicate organs and was quickly able to propose the most suitable model, as well as its positioning for installation. It has made a real difference in keeping the humidification in the organ chamber stable and we are now able to play the organ whatever the weather is like outside; even during the cold, dry conditions of last winter.”

The Condair CP3 is an electrode boiler steam humidifier that can deliver steam to an air handling unit or directly to a room’s atmosphere. All steam humidifiers require occasional servicing to remove limescale that builds up during operation. The Condair CP3 makes servicing quick and easy as the boiling cylinder is disposable. When servicing is required the cylinder is simply drained, removed and replaced with another, keeping downtime to a minimum.

The humidifier incorporates innovative features, such as water conductivity monitoring and staged electrode use, to maximise the lifetime of the cylinder. It is available in sizes from 5-90kg/hr and can operate with standard mains water.

Condair has humidified some of the most prestigious concert halls and pipe organs in the world including those at The Sydney Opera House, The Royal Albert Hall, Alexandra Palace and the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

The Condair EL electrode boiler steam humidifier provides reliable steam humidification and is easy to install, use and service. It can be used with steam lances to humidify an air handling unit or duct, or with a fan unit to directly humidify a room.

The steam cylinders of the Condair EL last up to three times longer than similar models due to advanced water quality management. The mineral content of the water is precisely monitored and managed. Water with high mineral content is drained and fresh water added only as required, thus minimising scale build-up and reducing the energy needed to heat fresh water.

Condair in action

Projects and references

McEwan Hall at the University of Edinburgh

The pipe organ in McEwan Hall is one of the hall’s most distinctive features and historically one of the more unusual organs in Britain. The organ was built in 1897 by the innovative British organ builder and inventor Robert Hope-Jones and refurbished in 2010 by Forth Pipe Organs. Condair resistive steam and evaporative humidifiers are helping maintain the ideal humidity for optimum musical resonance and preservation.

Steinway & Sons showroom, UK

Steinway & Sons has been renowned for producing the finest pianos since 1853. Passion and commitment, perfection and quality, reliability and “ of course “ an inimitable sound are just some of the characteristics people all over the world associate with these high-quality instruments. The impressive showroom in London Marylebone was recently refurbished. Condair™s steam humidifiers are playing a vital role in maintaining the exceptional craftsmanship involved in the production of Steinway™s famous pianos.

Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall is probably the best-known concert building in Great Britain. Aronud two million guests a year enjoy acoustic cultural delights ranging from rock to classical music. Condair steam humidifiers ensure a perfect humidity in the organ chamber so that wooden parts maintain their integrity and shape, and move over each other perfectly, as they were designed to do.

Quotes from our customers

Steinway & Sons, UK

Craig Terry

Managing Director

Incredibly rare and expensive wood is used in some of our models – but actually any type of wood is susceptible to changes in environmental conditions. Dryness is the enemy of pianos so humidity is really important. We need 40% to 50% humidity all the time to protect the wood, whether they’re in the showroom or the workshop. Condair’s units are ideal for the job.

And because we rely so heavily on the reliability of the humidifiers, we also contracted with Condair to service the humidifiers at regular intervals. Would I recommend Condair? Oh yes, they’ve supplied great service.

Forth Pipe Organs

David Page

Director

What’s important for us in choosing a humidifier partner is having confidence that they understand the application and that the solution genuinely fits the environment we’re working in. Condair’s range gives us that flexibility. Whether we’re dealing with a large performance venue or a much smaller, more challenging space, Condair’s humidifiers and application advice always help us find the right humidity solution.

Opera North, UK

Richard Ashton

General Manager

The orchestra spends over 20 hours a week rehearsing and performing here, so it was essential to provide a consistent level of humidity during the times when they use the space. After meeting with Condair, we felt confident that the company understood our specialised requirement, not just the level of humidity, but also the need for reliability, flexibility and cost effectiveness.

Since installing humidification, which we switch on as and when required, our musicians have felt much more at ease regarding the safety and performance of their instruments.

Steinway & Sons, UK