Budget: the part of any major project that no one wants to talk about or deal with. Cleanroom design is no exception. Given the very specific and specialized nature of cleanroom design and the unique requirements of each type of cleanroom, it can be difficult to know at the outset of your cleanroom design project what your budget should be. Here are a few things to consider when determining your cleanroom design budget.

Type of construction

First of all, are there different types of construction? Yes, when it comes to cleanrooms, you can choose either traditional or modular cleanroom construction. (Read more on traditional vs. modular cleanroom construction here.) Depending on your cleanroom size and application, modular construction may be the more economical choice. If you go the route of traditional construction, you’ll need to include more room in the budget for that.

Wall type

For modular cleanrooms, there are a few different wall options, which come at different price points. Softwall cleanrooms are going to have a lower cost than Hardwall or Rigidwall cleanrooms, in most cases. They are a more curtain-like material as opposed to a more traditional wall, which is beneficial for impermanent, small, or lower-classification cleanrooms. However, if your cleanroom must meet a very stringent ISO classification, Hardwall or Rigidwall design may be necessary.

Equipment and special features

It comes as no surprise that special equipment and features cost money. If your cleanroom application requires a fume hood, hazardous materials storage cabinetry, a talk-thru panel, a pass-thru chamber, an airlock, an air shower, or any other feature that you wouldn’t find in a normal room, you’ll need to account for that additional cost in your budget.

Required classification

As a general rule, the higher the cleanroom class, the higher cost to build and maintain. A biotechnology cleanroom required to meet ISO Class 5 (Fed Std 209E Class 100) standards is going to cost more in terms of materials and equipment, to build and maintain than an ISO Class 8 (Fed Std 209E Class 100,000) storage cleanroom. The higher the classification, the more special features, like those mentioned previously, that the cleanroom will need, the more gowning and personal protective equipment that will be necessary for employees, and the more energy and filters that will be necessary to remove contaminants.

No matter your needs and budget, Angstrom Technology can design a cleanroom that works for your application. Get in touch today.

When beginning the cleanroom design process, it may seem like the simplest, easiest, most inexpensive route is to design the cleanroom yourself, then hire your general contractor to build it. After all, you’ve worked with your contractor before and trust them. But in reality, cleanrooms are complex, complicated, and delicate environments that require experience and specialized knowledge to design and build—knowledge and experience that cleanroom design companies have that contractors may not.

Cleanrooms have special design features

Cleanrooms are not regular rooms and have special design concerns. They need to be optimized for laminar air flow to control contamination, they need to be made of materials that are low particulate emitters, and they often have special features like air showers and pass thru chambers that must be specially designed to reduce the amount of contamination that enters a cleanroom. A poorly designed or integrated pass-thru chamber or other design feature will defeat your efforts to control your cleanroom environment and increase your energy cost and consumption, which is why you should leave those features to a specialist.

Cleanrooms require special equipment

Not only do cleanrooms have specialized features, they also require special equipment that must be seamlessly integrated with HVAC, filters, and other systems. Your general contractor might not have knowledge of fume hoods, hazardous material storage, or cleanroom HEPA or ULPA filtration systems, which, if those systems are not installed and integrated properly, could result in contamination or hazardous conditions in your cleanroom

Traditional construction isn’t always the best option

If you hire a contractor to build a room or suite of rooms for you, they’re going to build those rooms. But sometimes, you don’t need a room in the traditional sense—four permanent walls. With cleanrooms particularly, your company’s needs can change as you add or remove equipment, change your processes, or expand your operations.

Modular construction allows you to change your cleanroom when need be. Additionally, certain types of cleanrooms, like storage cleanrooms, may not require the space, control, or rigidity of a traditionally constructed cleanroom, and a softwall cleanroom may suffice. Modular construction can also be more cost-effective than traditional construction because it depreciates at a quicker rate.

We’re cleanroom design experts who design and build custom cleanrooms, not just general contractors. Angstrom Technology can design the perfect cleanroom for your application. Contact us today.

There are so many things to consider when designing a cleanroom, from the necessary classification to the equipment to the budget to the application, even down to the material of the walls and the furniture inside the cleanroom. Here are our best resources with everything you need to know about cleanroom design to make your cleanroom project a success.

Most Common Cleanroom Design Problems

Don’t get tripped up before you even begin! It’s not enough to just design a cleanroom that meets your ISO standard, it needs to be efficient in terms of your processes. Most cleanroom issues are the result of poor planning and design, and that can easily be avoided. Read more about the most common cleanroom design problems here.

New Trends in Cleanroom Design

If you’re designing a new cleanroom, you want it to be up-to-date and cutting-edge, especially when cleanrooms are such a significant, long-term investment. This post breaks down the biggest emerging trends in cleanroom design, like sustainability, and how you can apply that to your own cleanroom design project. Read more about the new trends in cleanroom design here.

What to Think About When Choosing Cleanroom Furniture

Furniture is probably low on your list of design concerns, but it’s a crucial consideration to achieve an efficient, well-designed cleanroom. This post will help you ask the right questions to determine what you’ll need for your cleanroom, based on the specific application, processes, tasks, materials, and other things that will be happening or used within the cleanroom walls. Read more about what to consider when choosing cleanroom furniture here.

How to Decide on the Right Wall Material for Your Cleanroom

There’s more to cleanroom walls than just how many there are. There are several different types of walls that your cleanroom can have, all of which have different characteristics that suit differing applications. This post can help you determine, based on factors like cost, flexibility, cleaning, and durability, the right type of wall material for your cleanroom application. Read more on how to select the right cleanroom wall material here.

Design Options to Reduce Your Cleanroom Budget

While a cleanroom may be necessary for your application, oftentimes, you have little money to work with when designing a new cleanroom, and you need it to go a long way to meet your required cleanroom classification. This post has several suggestions on how to cut down on the expense of designing a cleanroom, from cost-efficient lighting choices to design features like pass-thru chambers that can help keep contamination down and reduce energy costs. Read more on how to design a cleanroom on a tight budget here.

Angstrom Technology has years of experience in designing efficient, effective cleanrooms for a variety of industries and applications. If you’re designing a cleanroom, get in touch with the experts at Angstrom Technology.