10 Cost-Cutting Strategies for Cleanrooms

The high-end technicalities of a cleanroom make the cost associated with it are considerable. As some industries cannot afford to exist without a cleanroom system, hence the lookout is for practical cost-cutting strategies for cleanrooms.

Appropriate planning, behavior of operators, correct usages of equipment largely determine the maintenance cost of cleanroom solutions. On the other hand, space area, cleanliness level and HVAC system determine its initial construction cost.

In this blog post by ACH Engineering, let us look at the 10 cost-cutting strategies for cleanrooms that reduce cleanroom construction and maintenance cost without compromising Industry codes, standards and most importantly the intention of the cleanroom operations.

Optimizing HVAC System Design

Heat generated by the AC compressor creates increased burden on the cleanroom HVAC system and dumps heat around your cleanroom area. This impacts the performance of both AC and HVAC systems thereby jeopardizing the low ambient air temperature requirement of the cleanroom.

Here comes the role of ventilation fans and exhaust ducts in cleanrooms. Installing ventilation fans and exhaust ducts release hot air from the cleanroom thereby safeguarding the AC and HVAC system. Further we install a recirculation system and ducting controls that sends the exhaust air to the AC before reaching the (FFUs), This is to ensure that no hot air is released within the cleanroom system.

Map the Size of Your Cleanroom

Always opt for the cleanroom size that you mandatorily need for the moment through considering your process/operational requirements. You can expand your cleanroom area whenever you want. Since the inception of modular cleanroom, disassembling and reassembling of cleanrooms have become so much easier with ACH Engineering, a top choice among cleanroom services in Ontario.

Those who invest in a very large cleanroom than required, also have to bear extra maintenance cost of electricity, filters, equipment and so on.

Plan the Cleanroom Lighting

Steep electricity bills due to elaborate cleanroom lighting are often a complaint from the ACH Engineering clients. As a solution we always recommend opting for LED cleanroom lighting options. LED cleanroom lights can easily be applied on the cleanroom ceiling with output as same as fluorescent lights. LED cleanroom lights offered by ACH Engineering last 10 times longer and save more than 55% of energy cost compared to traditional fluorescent lighting units. LED cleanroom lights do not affect the laminar flow in the cleanroom area.

Use Auto Control Fan Filter Units (FFU)

When designing a cleanroom, there are two choices:

1. a) AC Fan Filter Unit (using Alternate Current)
2. b) DC Fan Filter Unit (using Direct Current)

Among the two, ACH Engineering always recommends the DC Fan Filter Unit because of its low recurring cost. DC Units do cost more than AC units, but over time, considering the lower maintenance cost DC units are always a better choice.

Another popular alternative trending now as a practical cost-cutting strategy of cleanrooms is use of room-side replaceable (RSR) fan filter units.

Summing up, opt for FFU units that maintain the cleanroom-controlled environment to its right ISO level, while keeping an eye on the total cost of ownership (Initial cost + Service cost + Energy cost)

Add a Pass-thru Chamber

Pass-thru chamber is becoming inevitable in today’s cleanroom design. There are 3 benefits of pass thru chamber for cleanroom – low energy cost, control pressure differential fluctuations and optimum productivity.

Much smaller than cleanroom doors, pass-thru chambers allow transferring supplies in the cleanroom with minimal human interaction thereby diminishing scope of contamination caused due to foot traffic.

Encourage Healthy Cleanroom Practice

Operators in the cleanroom are the biggest source of contamination. Single act of an operator can produce major contamination leading to additional expenses. Thus, it is important to train every operator who enters, spends time, or works in the cleanroom. In this post-corona era, it is very important to restrict entry or operators with symptoms of illness. Make sure every operator in the cleanroom adheres by the same sanitization, gowning and cleanliness rules to maintain a safe environment in the cleanroom.

Cleanroom Filtration Process

Regular filter maintenance of cleanrooms alone can reduce expense to quite an extent. To support the cleanroom specification, we recommend installing 3 kinds of filters – HEPA, bag/box filters and pre-filters. Both HEPA and bag/box filters are time-consuming and expensive to replace. Thus, ACH Engineering recommends frequently changing the cleanroom pre-filters as they are low cost and protects both HEPA and bag/box filters as a leading cleanroom solutions provider, Canada. Pre filters with high dust holding capacity increase the lifespan of both HEPA and bag/box filters cleanroom pre-filters can be changed up to 6 times in a year.

Classified Cleanroom Cleaning

Haphazard cleaning of cleanrooms can be a toll to your cleanroom operational cost. Haphazard cleanroom cleaning also leads to waste of resources and compromised productivity. Here the solution is to opt for an experienced turnkey cleanroom solutions provider like ACH Engineering who can do the cleanroom cleanliness meticulously in time and in short budget. Cleanrooms being highly sensitive should not be experimented with. In Canada, ACH Engineering is counted among the best controlled environment and cleanroom service providers.

Stick To Softwall Only

When planning for a cleanroom on a tight budget, try going for softwall cleanrooms over cleanroom wall panels. Softwall cleanrooms are budget-friendly, low cost and are currently available in many designs. Softwall cleanrooms can also be easily relocated with braked casters. These are lightweight and hence, easy to install anywhere and everywhere. Softwall design works for both traditional and modular cleanrooms.

Turning Down the Cleanroom

Reducing the frequency of air in a cleanroom is called turning down the cleanroom. When the particle count in a cleanroom is consistently lower than the standard, then it requires reduction in the number of air changes. This reduction in the number of changes that is turning down the cleanroom leads to major cost cutting. Reducing the frequency of air in a cleanroom should be done in par with cleanroom ISO level and without harming the ongoing cleanroom processes.

The aforementioned are hand few 10 cost-cutting strategies for cleanrooms that should be applied without impacting the workflow of the cleanroom. These 10 cost-cutting strategies for cleanrooms have been tried and tested in diverse industries and are highly recommended by ACH Engineering, offering modular cleanroom services in Ontario, Canada. ACH Engineering offers Engineering Services and Modular Cleanroom Solutions with industry best fastest and economical construction methodologies.