TURNKEY CLEANROOM & LABORATORY DESIGN & INSTALLATION
Battery Cleanrooms:
Low-Humidity Rooms
PETI: A design & build contractor of low-humidity rooms, low-humidity cleanrooms and laboratories
Pacific Environmental Technologies, Inc. (PETI), a California Corporation, is a specialty contractor and manufacturer, that designs, constructs, builds and installs controlled environment rooms (CERs) which include battery cleanrooms and other low humidity rooms.
What is a Dry Room?
Low-humidity cleanroom
A dry room is a low-humidity room where the humidity levels are controlled below where typical ambient conditions and normal construction would allow. Low-humidity rooms utilize specially constructed envelopes that prevent infiltration of moisture; use specialty mechanical equipment and ductwork to control the moisture being introduced through the mechanical HVAC system, and to remove the moisture being generated within the envelope, typically by people but not always. Sometimes by the process.
Applications for low-humidity rooms
- 1% RH battery room for lithium-ion battery mfg
- Printed solar cell dry rooms 5% ~ 15% RH
- Low humidity cleanrooms 15% ~ 35% RH
- Low-humidity laboratories for R &D
- Composite materials in the aerospace mfg industry
- Powdered drugs in the pharmaceutical industry
- Food and beverages
- Museum and artifact storage 40~ 60% RH
How Are Dry Rooms Designed and Constructed?
Dry or low-humidity rooms require special attention to a number of factors
Envelope: The envelope (walls, ceiling and floor) must be constructed to prevent moisture from infiltrating into the low-humidity processing area. Materials with low or zero permeability must be used. Modular wall metal-clad wall panels are a common choice on the architectural side or epoxy-coated standard construction walls. Ceiling components that can be well sealed. Again, metal-clad modular panels is one choice, Suspended ceilings with metal-clad tiles and thoroughly caulked can be used in some situations. Floors are epoxy-coated or use welded seam vinyl flooring. Doors have to be well sealed when closed and often one or more anterooms are used as buffers to the main low-humidity room.
View modular cleanrooms.
Mechanical systems: For low-humidity rooms, the mechanical-HVAC system will use a desiccant dryer to dehumidify the supply air. Cooling is provided by either chilled water or DX refrigeration systems and sealed ductwork (welded for a 1% battery room). Air-handlers have to be of low leakage construction. All connections, joints and penetrations have to be extremely well-sealed.
Electrical systems: Low-humidity rooms will use carefully selected standard or explosion-proof electrical components depending on the application. Again, as in the mechanical system, all connections, joints, and penetrations have to be extremely well sealed to prevent moisture infiltration. As an example, conduit has to be sealed on the inside where it penetrates walls or the ceiling or comes up through concrete to prevent moisture infiltration. View modular cleanrooms.
Control systems for low-humidity rooms can vary from simple standalone systems to integrated BMS systems, depending on the tolerances and stability requirements of the process. A common feature will be a high-accuracy humidity transmitter to control and monitor the room’s RH or dew point.
Get a Free Quote for Your Cleanroom, Laboratory or Specialty Room Needs
With over 35 years of experience in projects ranging from large turnkey facilities to portable modular cleanrooms and containerized solutions, we are your single-source solutions provider.
Regulations
affecting the design and build of a low-humidity room such as a battery cleanroom
- OSHA (safe working conditions)
- EPA (protecting the environment)
- DOE (setting energy conservation standards)
- State and local regulations may add additional requirements
If the dry room will also be operating as a cleanroom, then the ISO standards 14644 will also affect the design.
PETI Battery Cleanrooms & Low-Humidity Rooms
some of our strengths
- Over 35 years of experience designing and engineering, constructing and manufacturing cleanrooms, laboratories, dry rooms including battery cleanroom of all types and sizes.
- We design low humidity rooms laboratories using low moisture permeable components and specialized mechanical equipment.
- We can provide turnkey solutions covering all aspects of your project including process piping, control-monitoring systems and special environmental conditions.
- Our experience enables us to design and construct small to large R & D and manufacturing facilities.
- Most of the design and engineering is done in-house, we are responsible for all of the design. Of course, you, our customer, dictate the scope of our work.
- We work domestically and internationally (see our who we have done work for page).
- Our designs are cost-effective and robust.
- We self-perform the critical parts of the installation such as controls, hvac duct and mechanical equipment, hepa filters, air balance and startup.
- We can generate the protocols and perform IQ, OQ and PQs on our scope of work if you require validated systems.
- We are experienced in all types of controls from stand alone to building automation systems.
Options for Battery Cleanrooms
& Low-Humidity Rooms
customized solutions to fit your needs
PETI is a turnkey solution provider. As such, we can and do get involved in many aspects of your facility. We offer the following and other ancillary support systems:
- Modular wall system options
- Suspended T-bar ceiling options
- Lighting options
- Floor covering options
- Air filtrations options
- Electrical systems
- Standby emergency power systems
- Exhaust ventilation systems
- Life safety systems
- HVAC systems
- Process piping systems
- Specialty systems
- Dust collection systems
- Hydronic hot and cold water systems
- Certification & validation
- Startup test and balancing
- Commissioning
- Training
- Consulting services
- Preventative maintenance programs
Skilled Professionals &
Industry Experts for Over 35 Years
SOLUTIONS THAT WORK AND CONTINUE WORKING
PETI was borne of a problem wanting a solution: A fire destroyed a cleanroom fabrication facility and the experience started. Attention to detail, reliable solutions, managing the project, learning and solving problems and more as the new facility took shape and was commissioned.
Millions of square feet and hundreds of cleanrooms later, PETI can provide a solution to your problem, whether it’s fixing an existing cleanroom or planning for a new one. Start your journey today.
Extensive Capabilities
We're Application and results oriented,
not product oriented
Are you looking for someone who can provide more than just the cleanroom envelope with some HEPA filters? See what extensive capability looks like by giving us a call or sending us an email. Start your journey now!
With experience in most industries, we can help you with more than the envelope, see our capabilities page, project references, and see how we are application and results oriented, not product oriented.
Full-Service Solutions
Providing design-build services for turnkey cleanroom and laboratory facilities
Design Engineering
Ancillary Support Systems
Plan Check & Permitting
Construction & Manufacturing
Consulting Services
Certification & Validation
schedule a Discussion
Let’s start your project quote together. Give us a call at (951) 582-9306 to get the conversation started and schedule a discussion today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find helpful answers to the questions we hear most often
A low-humidity room is one where the humidity levels are controlled below where typical ambient conditions and normal construction would allow. Low-humidity rooms utilize specially constructed envelopes that prevent infiltration of moisture; use specialty mechanical equipment and ductwork to control the moisture being introduced through the mechanical HVAC system and to remove the moisture being generated within the envelope, typically by people but not always. Sometimes by the process.
Typically, a desiccant dryer will be used to remove the moisture from the supply air going to the dry room or battery room. The desiccant dryer most commonly uses a rotating wheel of desiccant material that removes moisture from the air stream by adsorption and then the desiccant is regenerated (moisture is removed) using heat. Other methods are condensation using refrigeration equipment and a third type uses a liquid desiccant.
When a manufacturing environment requires humidity below 40% this often considered the starting point for low humidity rooms. A Battery room like a lithium battery manufacturing plant, will usually target 1% Rh or lower because lithium salts are highly reactive to moisture. Pharmaceutical manufacturers often operate between 30~60% Rh but may require lower levels depending on the product and process. For example, many powders are hygroscopic and will cake during processing. Electronic manufacturers may need low humidity for the packaging of devices on the other hand, semiconductor manufacturers will often design around 45% RH to prevent static buildup and discharge.
Yes, PETI is willing to handle this aspect of your project.
No, it is not required in most cases. PETI can handle most architectural requirements for the cleanroom facility and if you have requirements for other architectural services, we have Architects that we work with who can provide these services keeping the project as a single point of contact and responsibility. However, we do not provide architectural services for green field and new buildings.
No, we will do the parts of the project that make sense from your perspective.
As an example, You may have an electrician you would like to use or a painting contractor. We can coordinate with them to bring about the successful conclusion of your project.
Give us a call or send us an e-mail. We will discuss or review your requirements and find out some information about your project.
We will ask questions such as:
- Is it budgetary for planning or it has been approved for capital expenditure?
- What is the timeline for getting a quote?
- What is your desired construction timeline?
- What ISO classes do you require?
- In general, what process will occur in the cleanroom (we will sign an NDA when you are ready to give more detailed information).
- Where is the project site located?
- What electrical power do you have available?
- What are the process heat loads from your equipment?
- What are your other performance requirements e.g. T/RH and +/- tolerances, room pressure monitoring-controls, lighting levels …?
- What other systems do you need us to look at to support your project, such as water (domestic, DI/RO, USP, wifi), drains, exhaust systems, compressed air systems, and process gases?
If your question isn’t covered here, contact us, and one of our experts will be happy to assist.
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Get a Free Quote for Your Cleanroom, Laboratory or Specialty Room Needs
With over 35 years of experience in projects ranging from large turnkey facilities to portable modular cleanrooms and containerized solutions, we are your single-source solutions provider.