Climate Control

[CAcousticM]

I live in northeast Tennessee, and I don't have central heating and air in my house. Fall and winter are approaching, and I'm wondering what I can do to protect my guitar from the constant temperature changes.

I will be running a space heater in my room, but I will be turning it off when I leave to conserve energy. Wasn't sure that if it stays in the same location it would be fine as it will gradually get warmer or colder with the room.

Thanks for any and all help in advance!
And thank you Frank Ford and any contributors for that wealth of knowledge on Frets.com... The answer to my question is probably on there somewhere I just haven't made it there yet

[Frank Ford]

 I get occasional requests , but generally feel ill-equipped to give advice for dealing with humidity extremes.  I've always lived here in Silicon Valley, where the climate is ideal for stringed instruments, hardly varying much from 50% year 'round.   We're just starting our 50th year at Gryphon, and we've never needed to control humidity in the shop.

My general recommendation is to check with folks in your area.

[CAcousticM]

There are definitely some variables I need to figure out, but yeah I'll ask around. Thanks again.

[LARRY KLOSE]

What Frank says: check locally.  Back when I lived near Gryphon but was frequently commuting to Arizona to see my fiancee (now my wife) I tried to buy an in-case humidifier for the axe I kept over there in the great desert.  They didn't sell 'em.  I had to go to a local shop in Tucson to get one.

Now that I live here I have a whole house humidifier which I use in a different cycle from other regions: on from April to July until the monsoon rains start, then off, then on again for much of the winter, except when we have seasonal rainstorms.  We have humidity swings from 90% to 5% and back, often in the same day.  

With several instruments, the whole house humidifer is probably the best solution, whatever your local cycle.

Larry

[Mark Fogleman]

Worry more about humidity dropping than temp changes unless you let it get below freezing. Heating your living space dries the air and everything in it to below the outside RH. Keep your guitar in a closed case to moderate temp change and run a humidifier 24x7 during heating season to keep the space at ~40% RH. You and your guitar will be more comfortable.

[CAcousticM]

Thank you all. I did speak with a local luthier, and he said what you did Mark, including "Relative"H. As well as being more comfortable! Cheers!