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 temperatures 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?
Cold rooms vs cleanrooms at a glance
| Cold room | Cleanroom | |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Keeps products or work areas at a chilled, frozen or controlled ambient temperature | Keeps airborne particles below the level a process can tolerate |
| What it controls | Temperature | Particle levels, plus temperature, humidity and the pressure difference between rooms |
| Classification | No classification of its own. Requirements come from the product being stored, such as food or medicines | Classified by air cleanliness under BS EN ISO 14644-1, from ISO Class 1 (cleanest) to ISO Class 9 |
| Air handling | A refrigeration system cools and recirculates the air inside an insulated envelope | An HVAC system with high-efficiency filtration supplies clean air and holds the room at a set pressure |
| Access | Insulated doors chosen to limit heat getting in | Controlled entry, often through airlocks or changing areas, so contamination isn’t carried in |
| Typical users | Food and drink, horticulture, hospitality, pharmaceutical storage, hospitals, funeral homes | Pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, laboratories, electronics |
What Is A Cold Room?
A cold room is a temperature-controlled room built from insulated panels to maintain a specific temperature range. They are used for a range of applications, including storage, preparation, and processing, for a variety of industries.
The main components 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 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.
Similar to cold rooms, the capacity and shape of cleanrooms are 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 an air cleanliness classification, 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.
When you need both: cold cleanrooms
Some processes need a room that is both cold and clean, such as handling temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products or chilled food production where airborne contamination has to be tightly controlled. A cold cleanroom has to hold a set temperature and an ISO air cleanliness class at the same time, so it often sits at a critical point in a cold chain where products can’t be exposed to warm air or to particles.
The refrigeration and the filtered air system have to be designed together from the start, because cooling, airflow and room pressure all affect one another. Cold surfaces in a room where humidity is controlled also need careful planning to prevent condensation, which can itself become a source of contamination. Treating a cold cleanroom as a cold room with filters added, or as a cleanroom with a refrigeration unit added, tends to cause problems that are expensive to put right once the room is built.
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 offer a solution to enhance your business.
Get in touch with the MTCSS team by calling us on 01886 833381, emailing us at sales@mtcss.co.uk, or filling in an enquiry form.
