The Key Differences Between Cold Rooms and Cleanrooms

Both cold rooms and cleanrooms are prevalent in temperature control, but they have differing functions and uses. Cold rooms are available in a range of temperature but generally fall into two categories – walk-in fridges (also referred to as chiller cold rooms) and walk-in freezers (also known as freezer cold rooms) – whereas there are more variables when it comes to cleanrooms.

Cleanrooms and cold rooms are both used in a wide variety of industries, and both are designed bespoke to individual requirements and industry regulations. But what defines a cold room and a cleanroom, and what are the key differences between the two?

What Is A Cold Room?

A cold room is a temperature controlled room built from insulated panels to maintain the specific temperature range. They are used for a range of applications, including storage, preparation, and processing, for a variety of industries.

The main component of cold rooms are: cold room panels, refrigeration systems, cold room doors, and cold room flooring (where required). These form the main envelope of the cold room, and each element can be customised to your requirements.

Walk-in fridges maintain positive temperatures of between +1°C and +8°C, and walk-in freezers maintain negative temperatures of between -0°C and -40°C. Refrigeration systems are selected and designed to suit specific parameters within in your cold room.

What Is A Cleanroom?

A cleanroom can be considered a temperature-controlled room, however there are more details and parameters to consider. Cleanrooms are designed to maintain a controlled environment with low levels of pollutants, and are classified by the cleanliness of the air. In the UK, cleanrooms are classified by BS EN ISO 14644-1.

HVAC systems within cleanrooms are not only designed for air cleanliness, but also temperature control, humidity levels, and pressure differentials. These aspects are defined by the processes that take place within the cleanrooms and the personnel working inside the cleanrooms.

Similarly to cold rooms, the capacity and shape of cleanrooms is a customisable, along with the door systems, flooring and fire ratings.

Key Differences Between Cold Rooms and Cleanrooms

Cold rooms are designed to maintain a specific temperature range, whereas cleanrooms are designed to maintain air cleanliness alongside temperature, humidity, and pressure factors.

This highlights the key difference between cold rooms and cleanrooms – cleanrooms must adhere to the classification of air cleanliness required – resulting in more complex HVAC and filtration systems to maintain the conditions required for the specific processes, industries and ISO classification.

Cleanrooms also have additional requirements when it comes to access. For example, cleanrooms over a classification of ISO 8 must have an airlock, and other aspects of cleanliness must be considered in their design.

Both cold rooms and cleanrooms can be customised to your exact requirements, taking into consideration your processes, business and industry regulations, and classifications. But there are more key aspects to consider when designing a cleanroom. MTCSS can design, supply, and build both cleanrooms and cold rooms – we are here to make the process simple and offering a solution to enhance your business.

Get in touch with the MTCSS team by calling us on 01886 833381, emailing us at sales@mtcss.flywheelsites.com, or filling in an enquiry form here.