Pipe Organs are temperature-dependent to ensure other instruments can be used with them.

International standard of musical pitch is A=440.0.

All digital instruments default to A=440 and are always in-tune unless manually changed for a specific reason. Pipe organs, however, are constantly changing pitch due to the ambient temperature of the room and the surrounding building.

We have seen many churches set their thermostats at 60 or 65 during the week, then bring the temperature up to 70 or higher on Sunday only a few hours before worship. This is not healthy for the organ, or for the surrounding building.

The organs are often out of tune in an environment like this because the metal of the pipes, and the physical chamber walls have not have the chance to equalize to the new temperature.

A masonry wall that has been exposed to 60 degree internal temperature for 6 days will continue to radiate that 60 degree temperature even though the room temperature has been changed to 70 a few hours earlier. That same masonry wall will absorb and equalize to 70 degrees after having been exposed to it for at least 12-24 hours.

Another side-effect to the sudden temperature changes in many churches is the complaints by congregation members that they are cold. This is because the physical structure (pews, floors and walls) are still radiating the 60 degree temperature, despite the air temperature being 70. These “cold drafts” are the walls and surrounding surfaces still radiating the lower temperatures they have been equalized to for the week.

To ensure the organ remains as close to A=440 as possible, we have tested and adopted the following thermostat settings for churches to implement so as to temper the surrounding building and also allow the organ’s pipes to equalize to the room.

Service Time: Sunday @ 10am

Saturday 10am: 64
Saturday 2pm: 66
Saturday 6pm: 68
Saturday 10pm: 70
Sunday 10am: 70 (Service Time)
Sunday 2pm: 68
Sunday 6pm: 66
Sunday 10pm: 64

The formula is to raise the temperature 2 degrees every 4 hours for a period of 12 hours. 12 hours before the Service Time the room should be at the desired temperature overnight. After a few hours (in our example 4 hours) the temperature should decrease by 2 degrees every 4 hours. The room can stay that temperature all week.

If there is a mid-week rehearsal, bring the temperature up 2 degrees every 4 hours hours before the rehearsal can help bring the organ closer to in-tune, but it will not be completely in tune.

Ideally, keeping the church at the same temperature all week can be the most beneficial, and in many cases can actually save money on the BTU’s required in the long-run.