Energy Saving Practices in Cleanroom Design 

Common Issues Identified During Design Reviews – New Build and Expansion

Introduction

Sustainability is a major focus for global businesses, particularly in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical sectors, which are dedicated to improving health. If significant reductions in emissions are to be achieved, energy efficiency must be integrated into all aspects of business operations.

Profitability and environmental responsibility do not have to be at odds. Reducing waste—whether in materials, energy, water, space, or capital costs—during the design, construction, and operation of cleanrooms contributes directly to the bottom line. Implementing energy saving practices in cleanroom design can lower operational costs while reducing environmental impact.

Why Are Cleanrooms So Energy Intensive?

Pharmaceutical, life science, and high-tech companies consume large amounts of energy, with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems accounting for 50–80% of total site energy use. These systems are essential for maintaining strict environmental conditions, yet they also contribute significantly to a facility’s carbon footprint and running costs.

Overdesigning Due to Uncertainty

Manufacturers often take a cautious approach, designing facilities with overly conservative internal specifications, particularly in new builds where operational data is lacking. However, historical performance data in existing facilities should be leveraged to refine energy efficiency strategies.

HVAC systems in secondary packing areas are sometimes designed using parameters meant for high-risk API manufacturing, leading to excessive energy consumption. Adjusting these parameters to suit actual operational needs can achieve significant cleanroom energy savings without compromising product quality.

Regulatory Influence on Energy Consumption

Stringent regulatory requirements drive manufacturers to over-design facilities, exceeding necessary compliance levels and leading to higher operational costs. While adherence to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) is essential, manufacturers have flexibility in how they meet these standards. Identifying and implementing cleanroom energy saving measures can reduce costs while maintaining compliance.

How Design & Construction Contribute to Excessive Energy Use

Despite advancements in technology, many cleanrooms operate inefficiently due to shortcomings in the design and construction process. Several common issues include:

• Lack of Integrated Design: Siloed design teams miss opportunities to incorporate energy efficiency from the outset.
• Unclear Sustainability Targets: Energy efficiency goals are often an afterthought rather than a core focus.
• Limited Involvement of Operators: Facility managers and operators, who best understand long-term energy use, are often excluded from design discussions.
• Oversized Utility Systems: Designers frequently apply worst-case assumptions, leading to excessive energy consumption.
• Rushed Commissioning: Limited time for testing and tuning leads to suboptimal performance from the start.

Limitations of Traditional Design Approaches

Traditional design approaches often overlook long-term energy efficiency. While Building Integrated Modelling (BIM) offers benefits such as improved coordination and cost savings, its adoption in the pharmaceutical sector remains limited. Without a focus on energy saving practices in cleanroom design, facilities risk being locked into inefficient operations for decades.

Are New Cleanrooms Always More Efficient?

New facilities are often less efficient than older ones because they lack the benefit of commissioning, tuning, and optimisation based on real-world data. In contrast, older facilities have undergone continuous refinement, allowing them to operate more efficiently.

Challenges with New Cleanroom Facilities

New cleanrooms frequently suffer from hurried timelines, business pressures, and budget constraints, resulting in compromises that limit energy efficiency. Sustainability and lifecycle costs are often ignored in favour of immediate cost savings.

To ensure cleanroom energy saving measures are incorporated, strong leadership, clear targets, and an integrated project team are needed from the outset.

What Needs to Change?

The conventional approach to cleanroom design will not deliver the energy-efficient and resilient facilities needed in the future. Other industries are already embracing alternative design, procurement, and operational models that prioritise efficiency.

Characteristics of Future Cleanroom Facilities

Future cleanroom facilities must be:

• Flexible to adapt to changing product demands and regulations.
• Resilient to external risks such as climate change and resource scarcity.
• Efficient in space, energy, and resource usage.

Some manufacturers are making progress, as evidenced by industry awards like ISPE’s Sustainable Facility of the Year. However, widespread adoption of energy saving practices in cleanroom design requires early-stage planning and long-term commitment.

Keeping Cleanroom Design Simple & Efficient

From the project’s inception, energy efficiency must be prioritised through:

• Defining a project lifecycle period (e.g., 15, 20, or 30 years) to guide decision-making.
• Setting clear sustainability targets, such as:
  • Net-zero carbon or energy use.
  • Annual energy and water consumption limits.
  • No net increase in energy demand during site expansions.

By embedding these targets into key project decisions, stakeholders, investors, and supply chain partners will recognise energy efficiency as a fundamental objective.

Ensuring Designers Prioritise Energy Efficiency

Many companies end up with cleanroom facilities that require costly modifications to improve efficiency post-construction. While setting company standards helps, overly rigid specifications can hinder innovation. Instead, designers should be given specific energy efficiency metrics to meet, such as:

• Ratio of conditioned air volume to useful space.
• Total system fan and pump power efficiency.
• Peak load vs. operational load performance.
• Facility heat balance and acceptable waste heat losses.

These KPIs encourage designers to move beyond a ‘copy and paste’ approach, using advanced modelling to simulate different scenarios and optimise energy use. This approach drives cleanroom energy savings from the outset rather than requiring costly retrofits later.

Measuring Success

Rather than relying solely on generic green building certifications, cleanroom facilities should be evaluated based on actual performance. Key performance indicators should be defined early in the project and assessed throughout the lifecycle to ensure continuous improvement.

Conclusion

Building efficient and resilient cleanrooms does not require speculative technology. The necessary design tools and solutions exist today, and they can be implemented without significant cost increases.

To achieve long-term cleanroom energy savings, projects need strong leadership, clear sustainability goals, and a truly collaborative approach from design through to operation.

About the Authors

Written by Keith Beattie & Matt Harris

Keith & Matt work for Energy Efficiency Consultancy Limited (EECO2), specialists in sustainable solutions for the pharmaceutical, life science, and high-tech industries. EECO2 provides consultancy, engineering, and research-driven services to help organisations achieve energy efficiency and reduce their environmental impact.