The art of achieving the right room climate in museums and galleries (and in your home!)

Dehumidifiers in a museum

Yes, but is it art? It is a question that has been asked since time immemorial. But what is art? Art is the product of a process within a process for art has changed and developed just as man and the notions he has regarding his existence and the perceptions he has of his environment and the society and the community he lives in have changed and developed. Art is not just a painting on a canvas, a haunting symphony, a beautiful ode or a mural on a wall. Art can be so many different things to just as many different people: it is art when it rouses the senses, when it moves, shocks or startles the beholder and it is art when the symbolism of the artist’s work leaves a deep and lasting impression, as frontiers are pushed back further and further and the DaVincis, Monets, van Goghs and Picassos of yesteryear are succeeded by the Beuys, Dalis, Warhols and Hirsts of today.

The works these artists have produced are as traditional as they are controversial. Yet whether it’s an Old Master hanging from a specially appointeded space on a specially appointed wall, a dead cow preserved in a glass case of formaldehyde or Tracey Emin’s unmade bed alive with the shockingly intimate details of her past night, there is one thing which they all have in common – they all need to be protected against the adverse or even devastating effects which the wrong indoor climate can have on such masterpieces and milestones in the history of art. Read More

In the used car business, professional appearance is all that counts!

buying a used car

Women and cars: I know what you may think…for some men at least, this may not be the perfect combination. But believe it or not – when I buy a used car, I really want to know what I’m buying. And although I’m no expert, I read through scores  of magazines and internet pages to find out anything I can about different types of engines and other technical details. Bhp, acceleration, cylinders, torque – I know what I want and when I decide to spend several thousands of euros on a car, I expect to get precisely what I want. However, most sellers, whether they are selling their car on a private or commercial basis,  just don’t take me seriously. On the contrary, they often believe that I buy anything they try to sell me.

“Don’t worry – this car is absolutely accident-free,” is one of the statements that I heard on pretty much every stop during my extensive tour through the various car dealerships in the region.
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Humidity in the garage? Don’t let your car turn into a rusty old banger

oldtimer in garage

An Englishman’s home is his castle. And his car his most-loved toy. This would be a rather crude assessment of what is more, much more, than just a fleeting fancy or a child-like fantasy – it is a deep, ingrained passion for fantastically-engineered and beautifully-crafted motorcars which stir emotions and – yes, it must be admitted – pluck at the strings of the heart. The beauty, the power and the elegance which veteran, vintage and classic cars embody can cause grown men – and of course women – to tremble with excitement and pleasure and to bemoan a bygone age of glamour and style as they look back on slowly-fading but fond memories. Which is why these wonderful vehicles need to be protected, not only against carjackers and car thieves, but also against the ravages of time, the elements – and the indoor climate.

The effect that the wrong indoor climate can have on the car in your garage:

As any real car enthusiast knows, the indoor climate plays an extremely important role when it comes to preserving the car of your dreams and to protecting it against moisture and the effects which moisture can have on the bodywork, the chassis and the fittings of your prized possession. High humidity levels provide the ideal breeding ground for rust and corrosion. In fact a relative humidity of only 60%, which, depending on where you live, what time of year it is and what the weather is like, is quickly reached can eat at the metal and the spotlessly shiny chrome and cause damage that not only spoils the aesthetic value of your car, but can also transform what was once a dazzling gem into a rough diamond. That’s why you can’t just park your car in the drive or leave it to rust at the kerb, what you need is a proper garage for your car so that it retains its value and you retain the pleasure you get from it.

But there more hidden dangers lurking in your garage than you might think:

Moisture is not only present in the ambient air, it can also work its way through walls and penetrate seemingly solid or leak-proof brickwork. And not only that: if you’ve been out for a spin and been caught in the rain or if you have been unlucky enough to end up in a snowdrift during the harsher winter months, then there will be more than enough moisture on your wheels, tyres and the car’s undercarriage to cause corrosion and considerable damage to your car when you drive it back into the relative warmth of your garage. In such cases, the moisture contained in the relatively warm air can also settle on the paintwork of your car or seep into tiny cracks between the various body parts where it can quickly become a serious and costly problem. And that’s only on the outside. The material or leather upholstery and the trimmings in the interior of your car do not take kindly to moist air and can in some cases adopt a musty smell which is a sure sign of mould. Cars have always been wonders of technology. They can be packed with motors which power the windows or adjust the seats and seemingly miles of cable. Moisture is not just bad for the electrics in your car, it is Enemy No.1. When the electrics don’t work and your car doesn’t start, then the cause could well be moisture.

How to make sure that you and your car remain together a life-time:

You can ensure that you get the most out of your Morgan Plus, your E-Type Jaguar, your Porsche 911 or quite simply the car you are proud to call your own by following a few simple steps:

Make sure that your car is dry before you close the garage door. This way the excess moisture can escape to the outside rather than condense on your car in the inside.
Install a dehumidifier. This may sound a little drastic or over the top, but a dehumidifier like the ones in the  TTK S Series from Trotec can monitor and control the climate in just about any room – or garage –and regulate the relative humidity so that the problems described above do not occur and you can be sure that the next time you fetch your car out of the garage all you have to do is turn the key for the motor to gun into life and then purr contentedly as you appreciatively let your eyes and fingers glide over the exquisitely designed, sleek interior and soak up the pleasure of owning your very own personal dream car.

Like we said before. A car can last a life-time. And you can decide if it does.

Trotec. The name in dehumidifiers and climate conditioning.

Tips on How to Stay Cool on a Hot Day

Air conditioning - how to stay cool on hot days

This summer is sure to go down in the annals of history. It could hardly have got any wetter – or any hotter – depending on which part of the country you hail from or what part of the country you were currently in. The temperatures were so far apart that while in one part of the country it rained so hard and so frequently that residents had trouble remembering when they had borne witness to a more dismal summer, in other parts of the country the weather was hot and oppressive and even those sun-worshippers who normally can never get enough of bright blue skies and soaring temperatures were having to find that too much of a good thing doesn’t necessarily make it better.

So what can you do to stop yourself from despairing the next time the temperatures where you live or work look as though they’re going to hit another all-time high and you still have your whole, perfectly normal day ahead of you? Read More

Stop That Smell. Fast.

Air purification with an Air cleanerImagine a strong smell. No, not just one of your average bad smells – a truly revolting one. But careful – don’t dwell on it for too long – because sometimes even only the fleeting recollection of being locked in conversation with someone serenely unaware that they were suffering from bad breath, a waft of boiled cabbage, the whiff of a clogged drain, the intense smell of sweat from a sauna or a pair of discarded socks can prove to be too much to stomach for some. In fact some smells are so overpowering that there seems to be little that one can do short of covering one’s face and mouth and making a run for it.

A further smell that recurs repeatedly on the top of the lists of people who have been asked which smell they would rank as being among the most offensive in a closed environment is stale cigarette smoke. And being a passionate non-smoker myself I must admit that the pungent smell of stale tobacco that hangs heavily in the air, clinging to curtains and working its way into the wallpaper in households where heavy smokers exercise their right to light up without being taken to task by the powers that be really is a test in self control. I have found that by not breathing through my nose and by keeping my breathing shallow I can only just resist the urge to add to the overpowering smell with a few overpowering smells of my own.

But hope is at hand. Read More

Air Conditioning: Customized Solutions For Unusual Fields Of Application

The Microsoft Developer BusAs a company with years of experience in the fields of climate conditioning and measurement technology, we are always anxious to find the ideal solutions for our customers to meet their individual needs. Sometimes there are special situations concerning the supply of air conditioning solutions which cannot be solved with a standard offer. Special situations often require specialized solutions. With their unique know-how and experience our technicians always try to satisfy the need of the customers even under difficult circumstances and in unusual application areas.

Air conditioners for an old rebuilt sightseeing bus? Last week we rose to this challenge… Read More

Easy Rider: Spring Check For Your Motorcycle

Measuring Tyre Pressure On A MotorcycleHesitantly the first sunbeams warm us up and as the days grow longer you can really feel that spring is in the air… This is the time when bikers start becoming restless and yearn to climb onto their motorcycles to feel the freedom of the road in good ol’ Easy Rider style. But after a long and frosty winter you need to check your bike thoroughly before you can finally hit the road.

The best way to start is to clean your bike conscientiously to discover any damage like rust stains or leaks. When you’re done with cleaning, you should definitely check some technical details of your motorbike. This includes inspecting the battery, the oil level and the lighting, as well as a check-up of the brakes and brake linings. The tyres deserve closer attention: if you don’t ride your vehicle during the winter, it is wise to unload some of the weight off the tyres to guarantee that the tyres don’t bulge and still run smoothly. You should also make sure that there are no porous spots or cuts which could lessen your driving safety. The tread depth is another factor which is mainly responsible for the safety of your motorbike. A minimum depth of 1mm is required for motorcycles by law but the AA recommends a tread depth of at least 2mm so that you are prepared in case of wet roads for example.

And last but not least: the tyre pressure! Read More

There’s more to a dehumidifier than meets the eye…

a luxury yacht and a dehumidifier

What do a 120 metre luxury yacht and a dehumidifier have in common? Not a lot you might think. And in many respects you would be right. You won’t find many front rooms, basements or cellars large enough to accommodate a class II super yacht with three decks, two Monets and a celebrity chef on board, and only an intrepid explorer – or a fool perhaps – would even consider attempting to cross the channel on a dehumidifier (we’re not even sure if they would stay afloat – here’s another experiment which our dedicated and highly creative social media team might wish to contemplate carrying out– see “Cooking pasta and saving energy: A Test”).

Yet although there would seem to be little or nothing which these two very differently-priced objects – one costing anywhere upwards of a million dollars a month just to charter and the other only a mere 82 euros to buy – may have by way of similarity, there is a much stronger tie that unites the two than first meets the eye…

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Apps for Life

Apps
The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the leading trade fair of the consumer electronics industry that took place at the beginning of the year, made one thing more than clear: 2011 is going to be the year of the Apps. You think that 2010 has been the year of the Apps? Well, that was just the beginning… Tablet PCs, Smartphones and the continuous hype around all apple products make sure that Apps stay on top of the list for every mobile enthusiast. Because they make life so much easier…

In what way? In pretty much every way you can imagine…because these days there is hardly anything that a smartphone cannot do!

Here’s just a little selection of everyday items that you can leave at home from now on – assuming that you have the right app! Read More

The Comeback Of Genuine Wooden Furniture

Wooden Dining-Room TableIf you start thinking way back you can certainly remember the old, dark and bulky wooden furniture which dominated lots of the living rooms of the generation of our grandparents or even parents. Usually they were used to accommodate the exclusive china set, the crystal glasses or the sterling cutlery. Unfortunately, these pieces of furniture often turned the living-room into a dark and rather unwelcoming place and the younger generation just thought they were hideous!

Especially after the second world war, during the time of the economic boom such heavy wooden furniture was very popular. It satisfied the need for security, tradition and coziness. Besides, it was a way to express the pride of having overcome the time of austerity after the war. Nevertheless, roughly since the 1990s, there emerged a counterculture which supported interior trends determined by a lot of glass, chrome and straight-lined design. Furniture made of natural materials like wood, cork or felt were labeled as old-fashioned and unhip.

However, during the last couple of years a new movement has started which implies more naturalness and comfort concerning furniture and interior trends. This new interior concept was also presented at the international furnishing show, IMM Cologne, which took place in January 2011. Due to the climate change people tend to once again set a high value on the use of ecological materials that are not treated with toxic paint or other surface coatings. The new interior trends 2011 have melodic names like “Emotional Austerity” or “Re-Balancing” and they all focus on sustainable and natural materials, modern design and state-of-the-art technology.

Long gone are the times in which you would be embarrassed to own those pieces of wooden furniture and you felt the need to hide them! Read More