A Cleanpak air distribution and filtration cleanroom system from Nortek Air Solutions is a vital component in the award-winning Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) building at the University of Illinois.
The ECE building was recently named R&D Magazine’s 2016 Laboratory of the Year.
The 230,000ft2 facility on the Urbana campus of the University of Illinois consists of high-tech instructional classrooms, 21 labs, student lounges, an instructional cleanroom, student organisational offices, 11 teaching assistant meeting rooms, study rooms, faculty offices, and a 400-seat auditorium. It was designed and built to set new standards in building energy use and invest in renewable energy, including a planned solar array.
As a result of its innovative design, the ECE Building uses 50% less energy than the minimum building energy efficiency standards established in ASHRAE Standard 90-2007.
According to SmithGroupJJR, the architectural and engineering designers on the project, this was 'an exceptional achievement considering the energy-intensive nature of a laboratory building containing an instructional cleanroom'.
For the cleanroom in the ECE, SmithGroupJJR chose the Cleanpak system based on positive experience in previous laboratory projects.
Nortek Air Solutions' Cleanpak system has been proven in cleanrooms around the world
The system at the ECE Building includes Recirculation Air Handlers (RAH) using Nortek Air Solutions’ patented Fanwall Technology features for air handling systems to supply the large volume of distribution air for the cleanroom. Additional benefits include reduced noise levels, consistent airflow, improved energy efficiency and redundancy for reliable operations.
The RAH units sit directly on top of the laminar flow plenums. The supply air plenums include HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Arrestance) filters installed in Nortek Air Solutions’ patented gel seal flush light ceiling grid system. Gel seals incorporated in this system help to prevent leakage around the filters. The plenums also incorporate fire sprinkler systems. Screens below the HEPA filters enable laminar flow throughout the cleanroom.
'Nortek Air Solutions' Cleanpak system has been proven in cleanrooms around the world,' said Harry Scott, Regional Manager for Cleanpak products.
'This product has been utilised by many universities wanting state-of-the-art cleanrooms such as Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, the King Abdullah University & Science Technology (KAUST), the Masdar Institute of Technology & Science (MIST) and most recently has been selected for MIT, Brown University and the University of Southern California.
'We congratulate the University of Illinois for winning the 2016 Laboratory of the Year Award,' added Mark DeVincent, President of Nortek Air Solutions. 'And we thank the project team for selecting the Cleanpak cleanroom system for their lab.'
In addition to this award, the facility’s design and construction is on target to achieve LEED Platinum certification and receive an EPA Energy Star rating of 99 on a 100-point scale.
Nortek Air Solutions, a subsidiary of Nortek, is a North American heating, ventilation, and air conditioning specialist for commercial, industrial or institutional indoor environments.