19.10.2013

Opera North sings Condair's praises

A Condair CP3 steam humidifier is protecting the valuable orchestral instruments and wooden décor at Opera North’s Howard Assembly Room in Leeds.

The recent renovation of The Howard Assembly Room included wooden paneling and flooring, plus new triple glazed windows and the installation of an air handling unit. Whilst this greatly enhanced the comfort of the venue’s performers and audiences, the lack of natural ventilation proved a concern to Opera North’s resident 54-piece orchestra. Dry air can be detrimental to musical instruments, particularly the strings, woodwind and Steinway grand piano.

Richard Ashton, General Manager for Opera North at the Howard Assembly Room, explained his concern: “The preservation of our musicians’ instruments, as well as the wooden décor, within the hall requires a humidification level of around 50%RH. Precious instruments can be damaged if they are exposed to extremes of humidity and especially if they are allowed to dry out. 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.”

The Condair CP3 is an electrode boiler steam humidifier that can deliver steam to an AHU 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 size from 5-90kg/hr and can operate with standard mains water.

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Condair CP3 steam humidifier at Opera North

Condair's concert hall and concert organ clients include:

  • - The Royal Albert Hall
  • - The Sydney Opera House
  • - Alexandra Palace
  • - The Royal Opera House
  • - Opera North's Howard Assembly Room
  • - Christ's Hospital school

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