Humidity Control for Cleanrooms and Laboratories

Q: What level of humidity control is possible?

Humidity control systems can be highly accurate if they are capable of modulating their performance. For instance, a resistive steam humidifier can offer 0-100% modulation and therefore could potentially deliver +/-1% RH control. However, consistent room humidity also requires very reliable temperature management and highly accurate sensors.

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Benefits

Precise and accurate humidity control in cleanroom and laboratory environments has many benefits.

Preserves Material Integrity

At the ideal humidity, products at kept in equilibrium, without drying or wetting.

Maximizes Production Yields

Correct humidity improves production quality and reduces manufacturing waste.

Ensures Regulatory Compliance

Poor humidity control can delay stability testing, impacting process compliance.

Humidity Control in Cleanrooms and Laboratories

Top of page Benefits Use Cases References FAQs

Humidification in Cleanrooms and Laboratories

Maintaining the appropriate humidity level in a cleanroom manufacturing environment is essential for optimizing production yields and reducing waste. Even minor fluctuations in humidity can lead to accelerated drying of coatings, static charges that interfere with packaging, or complications in sensitive printing processes.

Standard humidification solutions used in offices or general human health settings typically lack the precision necessary for these stringent requirements, making specialized humidification systems indispensable.

Given that environmental parameters often require round-the-clock regulation, it is crucial to implement a robust humidification strategy that addresses both maintenance needs and ongoing operational costs and energy consumption.

Dehumidifiers for Controlled Environments

Many cleanroom manufacturing processes require very low humidity to prevent sensitive materials reacting with moisture. Materials such as lithium used in batteries can require environments as low as 1% RH during manufacturing to avoid degradation. Unpacked medicines, capsules, powders and syrups are also highly sensitive to moisture.

For this reason, desiccant dehumidifiers are frequently used in cleanrooms and laboratories to provide very low and highly accurate humidity control. A desiccant dehumidifier removes moisture from the air by adsorbing it in a slowly turning desiccant wheel. Desiccant dehumidifiers can be placed in series, enabling them to provide humidity levels as low as 1% RH.

Use Cases

Anti-Static and ESD Prevention

Low humidity increases static buildup because dry air acts as an insulator, making electrostatic discharge (ESD) more likely. Maintaining 40–60% relative humidity helps dissipate electrical charges and significantly reduces ESD risk.

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Projects and References

Sanford Imagenetics

Located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota - Sanford Imagenetics is a comprehensive new program that fully integrates genetics with internal medicine, creating a first-of its-kind model for exceptionally high-quality and innovative primary care for adults. Although dieticians, social workers and pharmacists sometimes function as team members within an internal medicine office, there are currently no organizations that similarly embed genetics health care professionals into a primary care practice.

Denver Crime Laboratory

The Denver Police Department Crime Laboratory started in 1947 and stands as a model of modern forensic practice and equipment, with an efficient layout, and an environmentally sustainable and appealing design.

United States Department of Agriculture

St. Francis Hospital

Saint Francis is a Catholic, not-for-profit health system wholly owned and operated in Tulsa, Oklahoma whose mission is to extend the presence and healing ministry of Christ to all who seek its services. The health system is anchored by Saint Francis Hospital, a 1,112-bed tertiary center, which includes the region's only children's hospital and level IV neonatal intensive care unit, a 168-bed heart hospital and Tulsa's leading trauma and emergency center. Additionally, Saint Francis employs 350 providers through Warren Clinic, which serves the region with over 75 locations throughout eastern Oklahoma.

UCSF Medical Center

The University of California, San Francisco, is a center of health sciences research, patient care, and education located in San Francisco, California, and is widely regarded as one of the world's leading universities in health sciences.

RTI Surgical

From a small tissue bank at the University of Florida to a global surgical implant company with four world-class manufacturing facilities, RTI Surgical (RTI) has a history of innovation.

Icon Laboratories Inc.

ICON is a global provider of consulting, and outsourced development and commercialization services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government and public health organizations. They focus their innovation on the factors that are critical to their clients - reducing time to market, reducing cost and increasing quality - and their global team of experts has extensive experience in a broad range of therapeutic areas. ICON has been recognized as one of the world's leading Contract Research Organizations through a number of high-profile industry awards.

Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter Inc., is an American company that develops, manufactures, and markets products relevant to biomedical testing.

LabCorp | Birmingham

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings was founded in 1969 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol LH. Labcorp headquarters are located in Burlington, North Carolina. Lab Corp is a global life sciences and healthcare company harnessing science for human good. Every day, their mission is to improve health and improve lives.

Eppendorf

Eppendorf is a leading life science company that develops and sells instruments, consumables, and services for liquid, sample, and cell handling in laboratories worldwide. Its product range includes pipettes and automated pipetting systems, dispensers, centrifuges, mixers, spectrometers, and DNA amplification equipment as well as ultra-low temperature freezers, fermenters, bioreactors, CO2 incubators, shakers, and cell manipulation systems.

Quest Diagnostics

Quest is the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services its employees work every day to discover insights about your body that empower you with the information you need to make informed decisions in health care. They offer broad access to clinical trial services through their national network of laboratories in most major metropolitan areas as well as approximately 2,000 patient locations.

LabCorp/Covance

A global life sciences company that brings diagnostic testing and drug development together. The groups they serve include managed care organizations, biopharmaceutical companies, governmental agencies, physicians and other healthcare providers, hospitals and health systems, employers, patients and consumers, contract research organizations, and independent clinical laboratories.

Abbott Labratories

Abbott Laboratories is an American worldwide health care company. It has 74,000 employees and operates in more than 150 countries. The company headquarters are in Lake Bluff, Illinois. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known drugs it eventually grew to also sell research-based drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, and nutritional products. It split off the research-based pharmaceuticals into Abbvie in 2013. In 2015, revenues were $20.4 billion.

Parkland Memorial Hospital

Parkland Memorial Hospital is a public hospital located in Dallas, Texas. It is the main hospital of the Parkland Health & Hospital System and acts as Dallas County's public hospital. It is located within the Southwestern Medical District. Parkland Memorial Hospital is also commonly known as the hospital where the death of President John F. Kennedy was officially pronounced.

Nike World Headquarters

Nike, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$24.1 billion in its fiscal year 2012. As of 2012, it employed more than 44,000 people worldwide. In 2014 the brand alone was valued at $19 billion, making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses.

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24-756 Humidification for Cleanrooms document · 2.2 MB

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Frequently Asked Questions

What humidifier is best for a cleanroom?

Cleanrooms require precise humidity control, making resistive steam humidifiers using reverse osmosis (RO) water ideal. These systems boil mineral-free water with a heating element, preventing mineral build-up and eliminating routine flush cycles needed with regular water. Since flush cycles cool the boiling chamber and reduce humidity accuracy, using RO water ensures stable operation and consistent humidity levels.

What dehumidifier is best for a cleanroom or laboratory?

There are two main types of dehumidifiers: condensing and desiccant. Condensing dehumidifiers use a cold surface to collect moisture as condensation, while desiccant models absorb moisture through a wheel containing a drying agent that is periodically regenerated by hot air. Choice depends on air temperature and required humidity control. Condensing types work best in warm conditions, while desiccant units perform better in colder environments and can achieve lower and tighter humidity control (±2% RH versus ±10% RH for standard condensers).

How can I control static in a cleanroom?

A successful way to control static build-up in a cleanroom environment is to maintain air humidity above 45% RH. At higher levels of air humidity, electric charge will naturally dissipate through the air, rather than remain static in a material. Static can be controlled using specialist flooring, worksurfaces, wrist straps and packaging. these can be very effective, locally applied solutions, but humidity control presents a holistic solution across a room or building.

Humidity control offers an additional level of protection to reduce risk to sensitive processes used in combination with local solutions in a cleanroom environment.

What level of humidity control is possible?