Setting up a cleanroom comes with numerous challenges. When you are setting up a cleanroom you will need to take into account a number of factors such as the size of the cleanroom, type of cleanroom, pass through chambers, nature of the fixtures used within the cleanroom, etc. One of the most important cleanroom setup considerations is the cleanroom lights.
In clean rooms, precision matters. To prevent contamination, the materials, including lighting, must be germ free and the professionals who perform work in clean rooms must be able to conduct their business without introducing contamination into the environment. Cleanroom lighting must meet these rigorous requirements and facilitate the work conducted in the room.
Foot candle (fc) requirements vary throughout cleanroom facilities, from 30 fc in mechanical/electrical rooms to 100 fc or more in the cleanroom. Some cleanroom applications that involve food inspection and grading require at least 150 foot-candles. The engineer should work with the cleanroom staff to determine the proper foot-candle requirements in each of the areas within the space.
Everything in the cleanroom, including the lighting fixtures, is designed to ensure successful air filtration and maintain the laminar airflow in a contamination-free environment. Depending on the function of the controlled environment, a cleanroom will use either HEPA or ULPA filtration. These air-filtering systems are typically an expensive component and one of the first to be considered in construction. They take up a majority of the ceiling space, which leaves a real challenge for lighting the environment.
It's no mystery that cleanrooms present numerous challenges to designers who specify lighting systems. Cleanroom lighting will vary depending on the room's use, its classification and ceiling air supply configuration. In an ideal situation, lighting systems should provide good visibility and be designed with contamination control issues—electromagnetic field generation and cleanability—in mind. But before that can be achieved, a thorough examination of the basic fundamentals, illumination requirements, available styles and fixture construction must be undertaken.
The basic cleanroom fixture types are teardrop, recessed, surface mount and integral ceiling grid. The selection of fixture type usually depends on the cleanroom classification.
Contamination control is the primary design goal of any cleanroom. Any potential source of contamination into the cleanroom must be thoroughly evaluated and minimized. Lighting fixtures should be subjected to contamination evaluation. Unfortunately, there are no established standards to prequalify fixtures for a particular cleanroom class. The National Sanitary Foundation (NSF) does provide listing and testing of materials used in food, pharmaceutical, medical or other FDA applications. Fixtures used in these applications should be required to carry the NSF listing mark. Manufacturers often advertise fixtures as being suitable for cleanroom use with no data or standard qualifications to substantiate their claims.
Specifying lighting systems for cleanroom facilities requires considerations beyond energy and maintenance savings. While lighting for cleanrooms should be energy efficient and provide proper illumination for the task at hand, it is crucial that lighting coordinates with air-supply systems and minimizes any chances for contamination.
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