Our Lord in the Attic: A Case Study

Historic Climate 1953 to 1990

Central heating

Central heating (photo: TU/e)When central heating was installed in the period between 1953 and 1960 (during the restoration of the building), indoor temperatures during the winter were easier to control. The possibility of maintaining the temperature at a certain set point became possible. It is not known what that set point was in those days. It is assumed that the indoor temperature was maintained at 17 °C during the day and that at night the temperature would be allowed to drop to 13 °C. This results in an estimate of a daily average temperature of approximately 15 °C. It is assumed that the humidity ratio indoors was the same as the humidity ratio outdoors, as no moisture was added to the outside air upon entering the building.

In summer the central heating would have been switched off and indoor temperatures would have been similar to those observed in 2005 and 2006, when indoor temperatures were never below 17.5 °C.

© J. Paul Getty Trust / Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage / Museum Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder