Micro Obsy - to insulate or not?

[Jannerland]

I'm in the process of building a micro observatory along the lines of New Sliding Roof Mini Garden Observatory Build - DIY Observatories - Stargazers Lounge. So it's purely a permanent home for mount, scope, minipc,  will have mains power and remote access (albeit its only 30m from the house). I'm pondering if insulation is a good / bad idea. Not so much from the perspective of when it's in use as when it's not.  I'm thinking that by insulating it may help  mitigate against long periods of high humidity? Appreciate ventilation will matter too.

Anyone put insulation in and regretted it?

Ta Rob

 

[Tomatobro]

I have sensors inside my fibreglass dome which warn me when condensation is starting to form and there is a definite pattern to it.

In the summer there is no condensation. In the cooler months what happens is that the pier, mount and scope cool down in line with the uninsulated walls but the walls warm up in the morning warming the air. The metal of the pier and mount are slow to warm up so condensation forms on these parts.

If the observatory has been open during the night then condensation forms on the inside of the walls probably due to the heat held in the substantial concrete base heating the air. On really cold nights frost will form on the inside which then melts in the morning.

I could see that insulation would reduce internal condensation but I use a dehumidifier to dry out the inside during the cooler months.

 

[Jannerland]

Interesting thanks for sharing. I do have the dehumidifier option to play with. Think I'll try the insulation route and see how that goes as I have some left over from another project and it'll just be cluttering up the place in the mean time!

What sensors / software are you running? (I need projects to keep my son occupied or he'll waste  occupy the entire summer in front of his PC :-))