How Does Cleanroom Classification Affect Your Cleanroom Budget?

by Angstrom-Tech-Admin | Jul 10, 2017 | Cleanroom Design, Cleanrooms

No matter what company you work for or in what application you need a cleanroom, you have a budget. If you own your own company, you likely have to figure that budget out for yourself, and if you’re commissioning a cleanroom on the behalf of your employer, you’ve probably been given a budget that you need to stick to. One of the biggest factors that will determine the budget for your cleanroom installation will be the cleanroom classification that your application has to comply with. For example, if you’re a medical device packaging company, your new cleanroom will have to meet an ISO 7 standard. These classifications differ based on industry and application and are defined based on the size and amount of particles allowed in an operational cleanroom. For a more in-depth look at how cleanroom classifications work, check out this page with a full chart on the requirements of each class.

It’s good to know that the classification of your cleanroom will definitely affect your budget in that the lower number classes, which are more restrictive and “cleaner,” are going to cost more than the higher number classes, say an ISO 8, which allows for a great deal of both small and large particulate. But how exactly does a more stringent cleanroom classification affect your budget, and in what specific ways will you see that when you get to the design phase?

It all starts with the three most important determining factors of each cleanroom class:

What size particles do you need to filter?

What sources of contamination you have?

What is the recommended air change rate for your cleanroom classification?

In understanding the answers to these three questions, it will be easier to see how cleanroom classification affects your company’s cleanroom budget. Let’s start with the size of particles:

Particle size

Each cleanroom classification level allows for a certain amount and size of particles in an operational cleanroom. Some classes don’t allow larger sized particles in, but aren’t as concerned with the smaller particles. Other classes, like an ISO 1, require that almost all particulate, of all sizes, are kept out of the cleanroom. Now, the size of the particles you need to keep out of your cleanroom will affect which filters you buy, and some filters are more expensive than others.

Where a small ISO 5 cleanroom might only need one or two heavy duty HEPA or ULPA filters, an ISO 1 cleanroom of the same size could need a great deal more filters. Not only are you buying higher quality filters, at that point, you’re also buying considerably more. The size and amount of particles that are allowed in your cleanroom affect the quality of filters and other technology you’ll need, with the most general understanding being the higher the filtration requirements, the higher the overall cost for your cleanroom will be.

Sources of contamination

Sources of contamination most generally refer to where particulate can get into your cleanroom. So, how many doors, and how many windows does your cleanroom need? Do you have to build all the cleanroom walls initially, or are you installing a cleanroom within an existing building? All of these considerations relate to your cleanroom’s sources of contamination. Depending on the classification of your cleanroom, you’ll have different sources of contamination to watch out for.

For example, if your cleanroom needs an air lock or a pass through chamber to ensure that employees and sterile supplies can get in and out of the cleanroom without contamination, that will add on to your overall cost. On the other hand, if your cleanroom is configured to only need one or two doors, your cost is likely to be lower. This is one aspect of cleanroom classification that you have a bit more freedom to work within your budget, as you often have the option to choose how many entrances you want, as well as if you plan on installing an air lock or pass through chamber.

Air change rate

Perhaps the biggest draw on your budget out of these three considerations, the required air change rate in your cleanroom will either drive the cost of your cleanroom way up, or bring it way down. Each ISO class requires a different exchange rate, from 750 air changes per hour, all the way down to just 5 changes per hour. The lower the number of air changes per hour, the cheaper your cleanroom is going to be, simply based on the amount of work your heating and cooling system will have to do. If your cleanroom needs 750 air changes per hour, that means that you’re drawing considerably more energy at a fairly constant rate, which will drive your costs up. What’s more, an HVAC system with the ductwork necessary to facilitate that amount of air changes is also likely to cost you, unless you already have an adequate system installed.

The bottom line is, a cleanroom with a higher standard is likely to cost you more. Because cleanrooms with stricter requirements require more advanced technology and a great deal more air and therefore energy, your company will need a larger budget to accommodate those needs. That doesn’t mean that you can’t build the cleanroom you need though. There are all kinds of ways to choose design options that can lower your budget, and cut costs on luxury items you don’t really need.

If you’re worried about building a cleanroom that sticks to the budget you have, be sure to contact the experts at Angstrom Technology. We’ve been designing and building custom cleanrooms for over 25 years and will deliver the cleanroom you need, at the price you can afford. To chat with us about how to meet your budget and your deadline, give us a call at 888-768-6900, or contact us online today!

What You Need to Know About Cleanroom Classifications

by Angstrom-Tech-Admin | May 3, 2017 | Cleanroom Design, Cleanrooms, Manufacturing Cleanrooms, Medical Laboratory Cleanrooms, Pharmaceutical Cleanrooms

If you’re installing a cleanroom within your company for the first time, all of the information associated with the process can be a bit overwhelming. There are a whole variety of new terms, you have to decide where to put your cleanroom, how big to make it, how to do it all on budget, and what’s worse: you have to figure out what standards to adhere to. Cleanroom classifications are one of the most confusing parts of cleanroom construction. If it’s your first time commissioning one, it can almost seem like dealers are speaking another language, and no one makes it quite clear what a cleanroom classification really means. We thought we’d take a minute to explain what goes into cleanroom classifications and standards, so you have a better idea of what you’re working with when you get to commissioning your cleanroom design. Here’s everything you need to know about cleanroom classifications, from deciding what standard to adhere to, to figuring out how to do it cost-effectively:

What’s your application?

The very first thing to know about cleanroom standards is which one is required for your application. Every industry has different requirements and needs, from electronics manufacturing to food preparation, and some are more strict than others. It’s important that you know exactly which classification is required of your industry, because if you install a cleanroom that’s designed to the wrong specifications, you’ll either be spending too much money on an overpowered cleanroom, or your product will suffer from the excess contamination. If you’ve been contracting with a private firm for a while, or if your industry is regulated by a government agency, it’s a good idea to check with them to see what classification you should design your cleanroom for. They’ll have documentation on the standards their labs function to, and should be able to give you plenty of information regarding what’s necessary, what’s recommended, and what you don’t need to worry about when designing your own cleanroom.

What’s a cleanroom classification?

Cleanrooms are classified by the number of contaminants that exist in a functioning cleanroom. Contamination is measured in parts per cubic meter. Say, for example, that your cleanroom has to measure up to an ISO Class 6 level, which is rated at 35,200 parts per cubic meter. This means that within your cleanroom, you can have no more than 35,200 particles greater than .5 microns in size, per cubic meter of cleanroom space. For reference in size, the typical measurement for the end of a piece of human hair can be anywhere from 60 to 100 microns in size. A particle that’s as small as .5 microns in size cannot be seen by the human eye, which is why we need high-quality filters to contain them.

ISO standards

The current accepted standards for cleanroom classifications are ISO (International Standards Organization) standards. This is the classification system most widely accepted internationally, and the U.S. just switched to this standard officially in 2001. It’s likely that while you’re doing research on your new cleanroom, you’ll come across a classification called the Federal Standard 209E, which was the previous accepted American standard for cleanrooms. These federal standards were officially cancelled in 2001, but many people in the industry still reference them. It’s just important to know that in today’s world, your cleanroom will have to measure up to a certain ISO standard, rather than a federal one.

There are nine ISO classes: Class 1 (the cleanest) to Class 9. The lower the ISO class rating, the cleaner the environment. ISO standards created three new classes that the Federal Standard did not address, making it the more comprehensive classification system. It’s best to refer to ISO whenever possible, because it’s internationally recognized and will limit any confusion. Here’s a better look at what each ISO Class looks like, as well as how they measure up to the old Federal Standards:

ISO 14644-1 Cleanroom Standards
Class	maximum particles / m3						FED STD 209E equivalent
Class	≥0.1 µm	≥0.2 µm	≥0.3 µm	≥0.5 µm	≥1 µm	≥5 µm	FED STD 209E equivalent
ISO 1	10	2.37	1.02	0.35	0.083	0.0029
ISO 2	100	23.7	10.2	3.5	0.83	0.029
ISO 3	1,000	237	102	35	8.3	0.29	Class 1 Cleanroom
ISO 4	10,000	2,370	1,020	352	83	2.9	Class 10 Cleanroom
ISO 5	100,000	23,700	10,200	3,520	832	29	Class 100 Cleanroom
ISO 6	1.0×106	237,000	102,000	35,200	8,320	293	Class 1,000 Cleanroom
ISO 7	1.0×107	2.37×106	1,020,000	352,000	83,200	2,930	Class 10,000 Cleanroom
ISO 8	1.0×108	2.37×107	1.02×107	3,520,000	832,000	29,300	Class 100,000 Cleanroom
ISO 9	1.0×109	2.37×108	1.02×108	35,200,000	8,320,000	293,000	Room air

(µm denotes micron particle size)

*Chart courtesy of PortaFab

Know how standards apply to your cleanroom’s 3 different states

So now you know what classification your cleanroom has to adhere to, it’s important to understand how that is measured by inspectors. Basically, your cleanroom has three different states: As built, at rest, and operational. The first refers to how your cleanroom performs just after it’s built–without furniture, employees, equipment, or machinery. Cleanroom certifications for cleanliness given by manufacturers refer to this as built state. At rest is your cleanroom once you have all of your equipment moved in, but before your processes are up and running. At this point, the workers have yet to move in, but your supplies and machinery are likely creating a bit of contamination just sitting in your room.

The third state refers to your cleanroom once you’re finally running processes with employees. This is going to change the level of contamination within the cleanroom the most, as people tend to shed a multitude of particulate, and machinery can often cause disruptions in airflow and give off contaminating fumes. It’s important to understand that once you get everything working, you’re going to have more particulate circulating your cleanroom than what your cleanroom standard calls for. Keep this in mind as you begin designing your ideal cleanroom, and make adjustments to allow for the extra particulate that will inevitably contaminate your cleanroom once you get people and machines moving.

Understand how a cleanroom works

Now that you know what the classifications are and how they’re measured, we’ll dive into how you get your cleanroom to meet those standards. To do that, it’s important to know how cleanrooms function. The great majority of cleanrooms exist on a positive pressure method. That means that air is pumped into the room through high-powered HEPA filters that remove the necessary contaminants. The air then flows down, and is pushed out through vents in the floor. The idea here is that any particles that exist in the cleanroom are forced out of the room by flowing air. Because positive pressure cleanrooms have higher air pressure than the rooms surrounding them, air flows from the cleanroom into the other rooms, which forces contaminated air from other rooms back, and away from the cleanroom.

In positive pressure clean rooms, air is constantly flowing out of the room. It’s good to know that negative pressure cleanrooms do exist, but they’re far less common. Negative pressure cleanrooms function exactly opposite of positive pressure cleanrooms, and are meant to contain dangerous contaminants like infectious diseases or hazardous substances. Air is pulled in from other rooms, is filtered within the cleanroom, and returns to the outside as clean, contaminant free air.

So how do you build a cleanroom that adheres to the proper classification?

In most cases, it all comes down to air. Most cleanrooms are structurally very similar: they feature return air grills, airtight walls, doors, and windows, and they basically function to keep clean air in, and contaminated air out. To achieve a cleaner class of cleanroom, it really all comes down to airflow. Any time you move down one class, you require about twice as much air. This is because the air is what does most of the work of ridding the space of contaminants. This is also the biggest cost associated with cleanrooms, because to get proper airflow in a cleaner class of cleanroom, you need more filters, more air return space, and generally just more air to be pumped into the space. The cleaner you need your environment to be, the greater the rate of air change.

Class	Average Airflow Velocity	Air Changes/HR	Recommended
ISO Class 8	Not applicable	10-20	20 to 40
ISO Class 7	Not applicable	30-70	50 to 80
ISO Class 6	Not applicable	70-160	100-180
ISO Class 5	.2-.5 m/sec (40-90ft./min)	Not applicable	300-400
ISO CLass 4	.3-.5 m/sec (60-90ft./min)	Not applicable

*Chart courtesy of Simplex Isolation Systems

For lower classes of cleanrooms, ISO class 9 through class 6, cleanliness is based on the amount of air changes that happen each hour. Cleanrooms that have more stringent cleanliness requirements–Classes 5 through 1–measure the flow of air through the room in meters per second. So how fast is that air moving through the room, how is it getting out, and when the air leaves the room, is it taking contaminants with it?

This is where a cleanroom designer comes in handy. Even if you create the perfect cleanroom with top-of-the-line technology, improperly placed equipment and furniture can create dead spaces where particulates are blocked from the air flowing through the room. When this happens, more particles are sticking around in your cleanroom, messing up your processes, and potentially hurting your workflow and production abilities.

We hope this blog helps shed a bit of light on the confusing world of cleanroom classifications! If you have more questions about designing your new cleanroom to the necessary standards, be sure to get in touch with the experts at Angstrom. We’ve been designing and installing cleanrooms across the country for years now, and would be happy to help you out! Request a free quote online today, or give our office a call at 888-768-6900.

Design Options to Reduce Your Cleanroom Budget

by Angstrom-Tech-Admin | Feb 28, 2017 | Cleanroom Design, Helpful Tips

When you’re commissioning a new cleanroom, it can feel like a necessary evil. You need a cleanroom to start operations, but it costs a lot of money that you might not have available in the budget at the time. It’s a bit of a Catch-22. At this point, you’re probably looking for anything that will get you the cleanroom you need in the time frame you have. Luckily, there are a variety of cleanroom design options that can solve some of the most common budget concerns. Here are a few cost-cutting design options to keep in mind when you’re looking for a cleanroom now:

Go Modular

One of the absolute quickest and easiest ways to save money on a cleanroom design is to opt for a modular cleanroom over a traditional cleanroom. In most cases, this is a perfectly valid solution, as modular cleanrooms can perform to almost all of the highest cleanroom standards. Additionally, modular cleanrooms can be modified to accommodate business expansions. And most importantly, they’re cheaper and quicker to build than your traditional cleanroom. When you opt for a modular cleanroom, you can get the cleanroom you can afford now without barring yourself from expanding to the larger cleanroom you really want in the future. If budget is an issue, modular cleanrooms are the way to save.

Make it Smaller

Sure, you want a cleanroom that’s big enough to handle the processes you plan on implementing in the future, but can you get by with something smaller for the time being? In the case of modular cleanrooms, there’s a lot you can do to get by with a smaller cleanroom. For example, you can use an existing wall and build your modular cleanroom off of that, which will reduce building and material costs. Remember, you can always build off of that existing cleanroom, or move it to a larger space down the road.

Additionally, by choosing a cleanroom design with a lower ceiling, you’ll also save money when it comes to energy and material costs. The smaller your cleanroom is, the less money it will cost to run it, and the less energy you’ll need to keep it to your ISO standard. If you can get by with a cleanroom with a lower ceiling and a more conservative size, and you need a cleanroom right now, then it’s not a bad idea to start small and expand later on. It’s good to note, though, that if you plan on expanding, to make sure you tell your cleanroom expert. They’ll be able to walk you through the best way to construct a cleanroom that works for you now, but will be compatible with additional processes when you do expand in the future.

Consider LED lighting

Cleanroom lighting makes up a large portion of the money spent on maintaining a cleanroom. Cleanrooms often require super-bright lighting options. While these lights are great at keeping the room well lit for employees, they’re often responsible for adding a surprising amount of additional heat to a cleanroom. This forces your AC unit to work even harder, which results in a spike in overall energy costs.

Today, there are a variety of LED cleanroom lighting options on the market that solve this problem. You can choose from a standard panel style to a strip style LED light that adheres to directly to the ceiling grid, without interfering with your cleanrooms’ laminar flow. LED lights produce little to no additional heat, and have an exceptionally long life, ensuring that you don’t have to constantly replace light bulbs and keeping your cleanroom cool.

Use your existing AC unit

Another great way to save money is to design a cleanroom that will function on your building’s existing HVAC or heating and cooling unit. This is an efficient way to control the temperature of your cleanroom, so long as your building’s unit can handle the extra load that your new cleanroom will add. Consult with your building’s heating and cooling expert to ensure the unit can handle that much energy, and if it can, you’re in luck!

It is good to note that some cleanroom class standards do require a cleanroom have its own AC module, in case the central unit fails. In this case, or in the case that your central unit is already overworked, you’ll need to ensure your cleanroom is properly ventilated to the outside. Though it’s usually cheaper to ventilate a cleanroom into the larger building, this puts a lot of additional stress on both your cleanrooms AC unit and the HVAC unit in the building. Avoid this if possible, to keep both units working in top condition for their intended lifespan.

Pre-Filters

We get a lot of questions from clients wondering if pre-filters are an acceptable option to use in conjunction with heavy duty HEPA and ULPA filters. The answer is definitely yes! Pre-filters are put in front of the larger filters and can be up to 80% efficient at capturing larger dust particles before they reach the HEPA and ULPA filters. This keeps your larger, more important filters cleaner for longer. Pre-filters are relatively inexpensive and easily cleaned and reused. By using pre-filters in addition to your HEPA or ULPA filters, you extend those more expensive filters’ lifetime and save yourself quite a bit of money.

Pass-Thru Chambers

Pass-thru chambers are another sneaky way to save money on your cleanroom. They’re a lot smaller than an access door, and they allow employees to transfer supplies or materials without having to gown up. This saves both money and time: money because in using a pass-thru chamber instead of a full door, you eliminate the possibility of contamination from foot-traffic and maintain a stable pressure during the interaction; and time because your employees won’t have to properly gown up to enter the cleanroom via the access door. In installing a pass-thru chamber as part of your new cleanroom design, you’ll save money by lowering energy costs and increasing employee productivity.

We hope that this list helps you find a cleanroom that works both for your application and your budget. If you have more questions regarding a cleanroom design that works for you, make sure to give the experts at Angstrom a call! We’re always here to help answer any cleanroom questions you can throw at us, so get in touch with our office at 888-768-6900, or request a cleanroom quote online today!

Updating Your Cleanroom the Right Way

by Angstrom-Tech-Admin | Nov 30, 2016 | Cleanroom Design, Cleanrooms, Helpful Tips

Updating your cleanroom can be daunting. After all, there are so many factors that need to be considered when it comes to any change to the cleanroom environment. You have to consider the specification you need to meet, cost, durability, and maintenance requirements of additions or replacements. But investing in installing some smart cleanroom upgrades can really improve the cleanliness, ease of maintenance, efficiency, and ergonomics of your cleanroom space.

LED Lights

LED lighting is a no-brainer when it comes to upgrading your cleanroom. When compared with fluorescent lighting it’s easy to see why: LED lights are very efficient, emit little heat, and require little maintenance, whereas fluorescent lights are fragile and need replacing often. LEDs have the longest lifespan of any commercially available light source, which makes them worth investing in.

LED lighting also beats fluorescent lighting in system efficiency (greater than 50 lumens/watt for LEDs, less than 30 lumens/watt for fluorescents). This is because fluorescent lighting is omnidirectional, emitting light for 360°. Fixture housings are required to redirect fluorescent light to the desired area. LEDs emit light for only 180°, which makes it easy to target light over the desired area–more light actually reaches it.

Panel Repair

If your cleanroom wall panels are damaged, it can be costly to replace them. If the damage isn’t too extensive, it’s possible that panels can be repaired instead of replaced. Repairing damaged panels will improve the aesthetic of your space, but most importantly, it will help maintain the integrity of the cleanroom. Damaged panels could give off particulate matter or allow contaminants to breach the cleanroom.

Vinyl Walls and Ceilings

Vinyl is a smart upgrade for two reasons: cleaning and surface resistance. Vinyl is easy to clean and allows complete removal of particles, in addition to its low particulate emission. Vinyl can also have dissipative or conductive levels of static resistance, making it ESD safe, if that’s something your cleanroom requires.

New Flooring

Due to a variety of factors (gravity, for example), floors are often the dirtiest part of a cleanroom. Just like walls and ceilings, vinyl is also a good flooring choice for the same reasons: chemical resistance, static dissipative or conductive resistance, low particulate emission, and easy cleaning. There are also a variety of other flooring types such as rubber, epoxy coating, urethane, etc., with different characteristics to meet specific purposes. Cleanrooms with heavy vehicle and wear traffic may benefit from ultra-durable rubber flooring, whereas cleanrooms with the need for chemical and stain resistance might require urethane.

There are many ways to spend money while updating your cleanroom, but smart upgrades can help you make the most of your renovations, and your cleanroom. If you’re looking to upgrade your modular cleanroom, be sure to call Angstrom Technology at 888-768-6900 or request a quote online today!

How Much Space Does Your Cleanroom Need?

by Angstrom-Tech-Admin | Nov 2, 2016 | Cleanroom Design, Cleanrooms, Helpful Tips

One of the most difficult considerations when designing a cleanroom is determining how big or small it needs to be. The goal is to install a cleanroom that is big enough to house operations, but only just. If your cleanroom is considerably larger than you actually need it to be, then you end up wasting a lot of money by keeping that extra space clean as well. If your cleanroom is too small, you won’t reach required production levels and you may not have enough space for all of your machinery. So, how do you decide what your dimensions should be? Here are a few things to take into account:

Clearance

Sure, maybe you have a warehouse with a ton of empty space, but that doesn’t mean you should use all of it for the cleanroom proper. You need to make space allowances for both big HEPA, ULPA, and pre-filters, and you have to consider the installation of the cleanroom itself. Regarding the ceiling, you’ll need at the absolute minimum 6 inches of clearance. Less than that, and you risk starving your filters for air, defeating the purpose of the cleanroom in the first place. We recommend you leave about three feet, if you have the room, to allow for hassle-free changing of your filters. They’re not small, and it will make the job much easier if your employee has a little room to move up there.

When it comes to the walls, we understand that most people like to build against existing walls to conserve space. While this is fine if you absolutely need the space, the installation, and any future maintenance, will be considerably easier if you leave a three-foot perimeter around your cleanroom. This gives you more room to work with, and it makes any future expansions, updates, and even the initial installation go a lot faster.

As a final point on clearance, if you do have a ton of space, it’s important to remember that your cleanroom doesn’t need to take up the entire room. In order to be cost-effective, your cleanroom should be the right size for your operations, and no larger. The more dead space, the more money you pay for no reason.

Machinery

Another key consideration is to estimate exactly how much space any machinery or appliances will take up. If you already have the machinery, we suggest placing it on the floor of your existing area to get an idea of how much space the machines alone will take up, and how far apart they’ll need to be to provide employees safe and convenient access. Any kind of machinery is going to be your biggest factor in determining cleanroom size.

Workers

Once you figure out how much space your machines need, you’ll next have to decide how many workers your operation will require, and how much space they will need to function efficiently within the cleanroom. This should include any workspace required within the cleanroom. If they need to use a table, desk, computer, or chairs, these should all be taken into account when you’re thinking about your cleanroom size. Your employees should have enough room to access the machinery, and comfortably walk from point A to point B, without running into, or interrupting, other workers.

Heat

The final consideration regarding cleanroom space has to do with temperature. While the majority of cleanrooms are modular, any type of cleanroom structure you create will trap heat. This means that if you have a lot of machinery running within the cleanroom or a lot of employees, you may have to factor in a greater amount of space to keep the cleanroom from overheating. Since you can’t – like other rooms – just open a window or door, there has to be enough space built into the design to allow your air conditioner to keep the room at a stable temperature. This is imperative to the function of the cleanroom itself, as well as the productivity of your employees.

It’s also important to note that if you opt for a modular cleanroom, you can always expand along with your production. Modular cleanrooms are highly adjustable, which means you can add on to your existing cleanroom whenever you need the extra space, and if production slows for any reason, it’s relatively simple to bring your cleanroom in a bit. For optimal flexibility, we always advise those in search of a cleanroom to go for a modular option. This way, even if the cleanroom ends up the wrong size, it can easily and affordably be re-fitted for your current business operations.

We hope this helps you determine what size cleanroom you need! If you have any more questions regarding cleanrooms, from installations to maintenance, Angstrom Technology is happy to help. We’ve been in the industry for decades, so we’re confident that we can address any issue you’re having quickly and effectively. Whether you’re interested in a cleanroom, or you just have a few questions, make sure to get in touch. You can call our office at 888-768-6900, or contact us online today!

Cutting Cleanroom Costs

by Angstrom-Tech-Admin | Apr 21, 2016 | Cleanroom Design, Cleanrooms

Cleanrooms can be expensive, there’s no doubt about it. A cleanroom is a highly technical system that has to be maintained to exact standards, and that maintenance can certainly be expensive. But since you can’t afford to not have a clean room, what are some steps you can take to make the costs a bit more manageable? To be the most efficient, it’s best to start thinking about your costs while you’re still in the planning phase of your cleanroom. Don’t worry if your cleanroom has already been built, because there are plenty of steps you can take to reduce your costs in an existing system as well.

Here are our top suggestions to help you cut your cleanroom system costs, starting with construction, and ending with supply purchasing:

Have a plan: The best thing you can do when installing a cleanroom that stays under budget is to have a strict, defined plan. Make sure you know exactly what’s happening, when it’s happening, and how it’s happening. If you’re building a brick and mortar cleanroom, know how long construction will take, and how long until you’ll be able to start your production. If you’re going with a modular cleanroom, installation shouldn’t be much of an issue, but you should know approximately how long it will take you to get it inspected before you can move in and get started. If you have a construction plan and stick to it, you’re less likely to have any surprises budget-wise.

Size: The size of your cleanroom will have the biggest effect on your budget. The bigger the cleanroom, the more air, filters, and equipment in general it will take to run to standard. That’s why it’s important to know exactly how much space you’ll need. Of course, your cleanroom needs to be comfortably large enough to house your operations, but it’s a good idea to check, and double check exactly how much space you’ll need, so that you don’t end up buying equipment for dead space.

HVAC system: A great way to save money on your cleanroom is to make use of your existing HVAC system. While you’ll have to talk to your contractor about its capabilities, if you can use your existing air for your cleanroom, you’ll save a lot on installation and overall energy costs. Do remember that if you plan on expanding your cleanroom operation over time, you’ll have to make sure your existing HVAC system will be able to support the increased load. Otherwise you’ll have to consider a costly remodel when you do decide to expand.

Pass-through chamber: Not only does this one save money, it’ll save your employees time as well. A pass-through chamber means fewer employees will have to gown to transfer materials and supplies in and out of the cleanroom, which first saves you money on expensive gowning supplies. In addition to that, the more employees in your cleanroom, the more contaminants, and the more times a door opens, the harder your cleanroom will have to work to restore proper air pressure. A pass-through chamber is considerably smaller than a door, and by design prevents your cleanroom from losing much pressure. Not only will a pass-through save your employees time, but your cleanroom will stay cleaner, and will be able to maintain pressure more easily, saving you money on energy costs.

Economical lighting options: Cleanrooms have to be well-lit. People are doing very technical work, sometimes on the tiniest parts. Good lighting does cost money, but you can certainly cut those costs by investing in energy efficient lighting that still suits your cleanroom. One option is installing LED panels. LED lights give off less heat, which reduces your energy cost, and they last five to eight times longer than regular fluorescent bulbs. If you’re worried about lighting panels interfering with laminar air flow, you might also consider LED strips, which are attached directly to the ceiling grid, in between filters so no air flow is interrupted. Since these lights give off less heat and last longer, you’ll save a lot on energy costs in no time.

Prefilters: If you were thinking that pre-filters were an unnecessary cost that would just add to your budget, think again! Prefilters are actually relatively inexpensive compared to HEPA and ULPA filters, and they really cut down on particulate. Since they are placed before HEPA and ULPA filters, they filter out a lot of primary contamination, and can prolong the life of those more expensive units. Though they do have to be replaced more often, you’ll save money in the long run by not having to replace the expensive HEPA/ULPA filters as much.

Training: The absolute best way to cut down on costs is to make sure that everyone that enters your cleanroom knows exactly what’s expected of them, what protocol is, and how the cleanroom needs to be treated. When everyone understands the process, knows how to gown properly, and how to keep the cleanroom clean, it will be much easier and less costly to keep your clean room running properly.

Buy in bulk: A final cost-cutting tip is to buy in bulk. While you may have already thought of it, distributers are coming out with new options all the time, so it’s a good idea to stay up on all the new products available. Any consumable good that your facility uses regularly can generally be bought in bulk, which is a lot cheaper for you, and much more convenient for your employees, as they’re less likely to run out of items that are important to your clean room’s cleanliness.

With more than 20 years experience in designing, installing, repairing and supplying cleanrooms, Angstrom is your first choice for any clean room question. We can design a cleanroom to your exact specifications, and we’re more than willing to make repairs as well. Give us a call at 888-768-6900 or contact us online today!