Keeping your piano in the best condition wherever you are in the globe.
It can be difficult to monitor the environmental fluctuations and protect your piano manually. Checking room temperature or humidity levels daily is not always sustainable.
There are many Environmental Factors that affect your piano and some of the main ones are listed below.
The temperature of the room your piano is in needs to be maintained between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius or 70 – 72 degrees Farenheit.
It is very important that the temperature is kept consistent throughout the year.
Constant changes of temperature in the room will negatively affect your piano.
It is important to consider if there will large amounts of time in a year that you will not be living at the property and how to ensure the temperature of the room is kept consistent when not at the property.
The temperature of the room ultimately often influences the humidity in the room.
You want the humidity to be between 45% – 70% in the room the piano is in.
As standard you will always received a hydrometer with every Edelweiss so you can monitor this.
You want to position the piano in the room where possible so it is not in direct sunlight as direct sunlight rapidly dries a piano out.
This means not right next to a window or lots of glass.
If this cannot be avoided it is worthwhile considering a form of UV protection film, blinds or curtains so that the piano is not constantly in direct sunlight.
You want to position the piano in the room where possible so it is not in direct sunlight as direct sunlight rapidly dries a piano out.
This means not right next to a window or lots of glass.
If this cannot be avoided it is worthwhile considering a form of UV protection film, blinds or curtains so that the piano is not constantly in direct sunlight.
Logically the country your property is situated in will very much influence all the factors above.
From superyachts, mountain chalets, desert villas – the country your property is located in will be the main key factor in determining if you need a climate control system.
The Edelweiss Climate Control System
The Edelweiss Climate Control System is a very simple system that ensures your piano is always maintained at the optimum conditions – regardless of the environmental factors.
Below are some commonly asked questions about the system.
Fluctuations in temperature – and the associated affect on humidity – caused by seasonal changes can negatively impact your piano. Some of the signs the environment is damaging your piano are:
- A sluggish action caused by moist conditions
- Dry air can cause loose or wobbly action parts and make the touch uneven and noisy
- Likewise, pin-blocks can be distorted, and wrest-pins loosened by dry conditions making stable tuning impossible.
- In an extreme case this can cause a cracked soundboard
- Rusted pins and tarnished strings area a sign of too much moisture in the air and can lead to string breakages etc
- Sticking keys and action parts are caused by moisture both swelling key bushing felts and tarnishing the silver-pin pivots in the action
- If your piano frequently or quickly loses its pitch and needs re-tuning it could be caused by humidity adversely affecting the piano in various areas – whereas if the environment is sympathetic the whole piano stays constant and reliable.
Firstly, an integrated system reduces the requirement to manually set and check the temperature in the room or setting. This is perfect if you are in a location where climate varies by season or especially when the piano is being placed on a yacht or cruise boat where temperature has a significant impact.
We advise climate control is installed where underfloor heating is used. Heat coming from below the piano can cause the soundboard to dry and this would require substantial work to replace.
Secondly, it also can save you money and time in the long term. Ensuing the piano is maintained at optimum temperature prevents swelling of the wood, soundboard, rusting of the strings and sticking keys meaning that you need fewer service visits and less replacement parts. In addition is can also reduce your requirement for frequent tunings as pianos with well-maintained climate control tend to hold their pitch longer.
Yes, the climate control system can be installed into a piano you already own, subject to a workshop inspection by one of our highly experienced technicians. Depending on the situation, this can either be done on site or sometimes we would need to bring your piano to our Cambridge workshops to undertake the works.
Apart from the regular check on water levels (a light flashes when it needs filling up) maintenance is taken care of by our Technicians under the TotalCare package, but where clients are not under TotalCare it is simply sorted themselves with clear instructions available for cleaning and regular filter changes etc.
Again it depends on the piano, the location and the size of system but as a guide between £2,000 and £5,000
We advise that you follow some simple guidance to protect your piano from the elements. These include placing the piano away from drafty areas like windows or vents. Do not position the piano near a radiator or heater or if you have to make sure something else is in the way to avoid direct heat.
For particularly cold rooms add a rug to the floor underneath the piano legs as a form of protection. For underfloor heating a heat resistant rug is also an option.
What is the Climate Control System
You can watch below as Ross Norman, our Piano Consultant, explains how to top up your climate control system.
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