Environmental Monitoring in Heritage: Navigating Change in 2025
Across the UK heritage sector, collections care professionals face a significant transition as Ellab's Hanwell Pro approaches end-of-life, amid tightening budgets and stricter sustainability requirements.
At Conserv, we've been tracking these developments closely. As an environmental monitoring provider working with heritage institutions across the US and UK, we've been listening to a wide range of UK heritage professionals through conversations, workshops, and feedback sessions over the past year.
What emerged was remarkably consistent across different institution types. These discussions reveal a sector in transition, with clear patterns showing how environmental monitoring priorities are evolving.
The Five Key Shifts Reshaping Heritage Environmental Monitoring
1. Preference for cloud-first
60% of UK heritage institutions we spoke with now use cloud solutions rather than software installed on local servers, or ‘on-premise’.
Moving to the cloud eliminates on-site installation, maintenance, and dedicated IT resources while allowing teams to access real-time data from anywhere.
2. Usability takes priority
Institutions are increasingly moving away from general-purpose systems built solely for technical specialists. Instead, there's growing demand for tools designed specifically with museum and heritage staff in mind, many of whom don’t have a technical background.
These users need tools that are intuitive and easy to navigate without extensive training. Just as important, they value providers who understand their day-to-day realities and offer expert support—not just software. In short, they're looking for solutions that feel purpose-built for collections care.
3. Unified support replaces silos
Nothing creates more operational friction than being caught between hardware vendors, software providers, and internal IT departments when systems fail.
This was flagged as a critical pain point, explaining why a new model is universally favoured: with single points of contact, clearly defined escalation paths, and support from teams with heritage-specific knowledge.
4. Insights, not just data collection
Heritage professionals are no longer satisfied with systems that only collect environmental data - there's an increasing desire for platforms that turn information into insight, and insight into action.
Whether it's automated responses to changing climate conditions, or clear, actionable alerts, institutions are looking for integrated solutions that help them actively manage environments, not just monitor them. This is especially critical as rising energy costs and climate-related challenges place new pressures on operational efficiency and collection care.
5. Real-time risk response
Recent climate events have pushed emergency planning higher on institutional agendas. Conservation professionals increasingly seek monitoring capabilities beyond temperature and humidity—with leak detection emerging as a priority.
But it's not just about expanded sensors—it's about faster response. Real-time monitoring and instant alerts are now essential, enabling teams to react quickly to environmental threats before they escalate. In this context, comprehensive risk detection is no longer optional, it’s a core part of modern collection care.
What does this mean for you?
These converging trends signal a significant shift in environmental monitoring approaches.
It’s clear that while technical specifications remain important, institutions now place greater emphasis on user-friendly software, clear support models, cloud-first solutions, and expandable future-proof platforms.
Looking Ahead: A Risk-Free Path Forward
In response to these challenges, Conserv now offers a Quick Start Kit – a low-risk way for institutions to evaluate modern monitoring technology. The kit includes three sensors and one gateway, with a 90-day satisfaction guarantee.
Having helped hundreds of institutions transition from legacy systems, we've designed this specifically for UK heritage institutions wanting to:
- Experience cloud-based monitoring
- Evaluate usability across the team
- Test system reliability
- Assess support quality
If it doesn't deliver the value you expect within 90 days, you’ll get a full refund.
To learn more or discuss your specific monitoring challenges, visit learn.conserv.io/quick-start-kit
This article is based on research conducted by Conserv with UK heritage institutions. Conserv provides environmental monitoring solutions for museums, libraries, archives and historic properties in the UK and internationally, working with institutions such as London Archives, Gothenburg Art Museum, the Smithsonian, and MoMA. Conserv.io/uk