Applications

Pharmaceutical & Cleanrooms

Recover energy from high-volume cleanroom ventilation — with the recovery technology matched to each space's contamination-control requirements.

Energy Recovery for Pharmaceutical & Cleanroom Facilities

Engineered for Clean Air. Designed for Efficiency.

Pharmaceutical cleanrooms are highly controlled environments that require significant amounts of conditioned outdoor air to maintain air quality, temperature, humidity, pressure relationships, and particle control. As a result, conditioning this air represents a substantial and continuous HVAC load.

Air-to-air energy recovery can help reduce the energy required to condition makeup air. In GMP environments, however, the recovery device must be selected with contamination control in mind, including how much, if any, transfer between exhaust and supply airstreams is acceptable for a given space. Innergy tech manufactures energy recovery wheels, sensible and enthalpy plate exchangers, and heat pipes, allowing the recovery technology to be matched to each cleanroom’s classification, process requirements, and facility objectives.

 

Find the Right Energy Recovery Solution
CLEANROOM VENTILATION & ENERGY INTENSITY

High Air Changes, Tight Tolerances, Continuous Operation

High Air-Change Rates by Classification
Cleanrooms are classified according to airborne particle concentration requirements. Higher cleanliness classifications typically require greater airflow and more stringent air management strategies to maintain the desired environment. These ventilation requirements are significantly greater than those found in most commercial buildings and are a key driver of cleanroom HVAC demand.

Tight Temperature, Humidity, and Pressure Control
Beyond particle control, GMP cleanrooms often require closely managed environmental conditions, including temperature, humidity, and pressure relationships between adjacent spaces. Specific environmental requirements vary by facility, process, and product and are defined by project- and process-specific criteria.

High Makeup-Air Requirements
Maintaining pressure relationships and managing airborne contaminants often requires significant outdoor makeup air. This air must be filtered and conditioned year-round before entering the cleanroom environment. Conditioning this makeup air represents a substantial portion of the HVAC load and is a primary application for air-to-air energy recovery.

Energy-Conscious HVAC Design
Cleanroom HVAC systems operate continuously to maintain environmental and process requirements. As a result, energy-efficient system design is an important consideration for many pharmaceutical and cleanroom facilities. Energy recovery can help reduce the energy required to condition outdoor air while supporting cleanroom environmental objectives.

THE INNERGY TECH SOLUTION: MATCHING TECHNOLOGY TO THE SPACE

One Manufacturer, Four Recovery Technologies

Innergy tech is a comprehensive air‑to‑air energy recovery manufacturer offering energy recovery wheels, sensible and enthalpy plate exchangers, and heat pipes. For pharmaceutical facilities, this breadth allows the recovery device to be matched to each space’s classification, process, and operational requirements.

The Portfolio at a Glance

• Heat Pipes (Thermogain):Passive thermosiphon devices with no moving parts and no external power. The two airstreams pass on opposite sides of a partition, making heat pipes a common consideration where airstream separation is important. A U-shaped configuration is available for dehumidification applications.

• Sensible Plate Exchangers: Fixed-plate, sensible-only recovery devices with no moving parts and airstreams separated by the plate structure. Often used where moisture transfer is not desired and airstream separation is a priority.

• Enthalpy Plate Exchangers (IPE6-PM): Total-energy fixed-plate exchangers featuring a washable polymer membrane. Suitable for applications where humidity recovery is desired in a fixed-plate, no-moving-parts design.

• Energy Recovery Wheels (I4, I4R, I4-D): Rotary energy recovery devices available in multiple configurations, including a field-installed sectional wheel (I4R) and a passive dehumidification wheel (I4-D). When evaluating wheel technologies for pharmaceutical applications, the recovery strategy should align with the space classification, process requirements, and facility objectives.

Dehumidification
Because some pharmaceutical processes require controlled humidity conditions, Innergy tech offers both a passive dehumidification wheel (I4-D) and a U-shaped heat-pipe configuration for dehumidification applications. Depending on project requirements, these technologies may be used independently or as part of a broader HVAC humidity-control strategy. The specific approach should be selected based on the facility’s operational and environmental requirements.

Pharmaceutical Spaces

Recovery Technology Fit

Benefits & Value Drivers

Airstream Separation Options
Heat pipes and plate exchangers keep supply and exhaust airstreams physically separated, which is why they are frequently considered for spaces where limiting transfer between airstreams is a priority. This supports designs that must minimize cross-airstream transfer.

Energy Load Reduction on Makeup Air
Because cleanrooms condition large volumes of makeup air at high air-change rates, recovering energy from exhaust can help reduce heating and cooling loads. State project-specific savings from modeling or certified selections.

Humidity Recovery Options
Enthalpy plates and wheels transfer moisture as well as heat, helping moderate incoming humidity toward target setpoints. A passive dehumidification wheel and U-shaped heat-pipe configuration are available for moisture-control applications.

Technology Matched to Classification
Because Innergy tech offers heat pipes, plates, and wheels, the device can be matched to each space’s classification, process, and facility requirements rather than defaulting to a single technology.

Certified Performance for Documentation
Innergy tech provides certified performance data through Winnergy Pro, supporting design documentation and submittals.

Reliability in Continuous Operation
Heat pipes and plate exchangers have no moving parts, which is often cited as an advantage in continuously operating facilities. Confirm maintenance and cleaning expectations with the product documentation and the facility’s operating plan.

Designing Energy Recovery for a Pharmaceutical Project?

Our team can help match the right recovery technology to each classified space and provide AHRI-certified performance data for your design documentation.

Tell Us About Your Project

Cleanrooms control airborne particles primarily through high air-change rates, which require large volumes of filtered, conditioned air. Because the makeup air must also be closely controlled for temperature, humidity, and pressure, conditioning it represents a large, continuous load — which is where energy recovery is applied.

It depends on the space’s classification, the process, the facility’s requirements, and the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). For makeup-air recovery on non-hazardous return air in permitted classifications, wheels are commonly used with appropriate seals and a purge section to limit transfer. Where exhaust carries hazardous process contaminants that are not permitted to transfer to any space, separated-airstream devices such as heat pipes or plate exchangers are generally used instead.

In rotary wheels, transfer can occur through cross-flow leakage (via seals or gaps) and carryover (exhaust air carried in the wheel flutes into the supply side). A purge section sweeps the flutes with outside air to reduce carryover, though it does not necessarily eliminate all transfer. Heat pipes and plate exchangers instead keep the two airstreams in physically separate passages. The acceptable approach for a classified space is set by the facility’s requirements, risk assessment, and the AHJ.

Innergy tech offers heat pipes, sensible and enthalpy plate exchangers, and energy recovery wheels, so the device can be matched to each space. Separation-critical or hazardous-exhaust spaces often use heat pipes or plates; makeup-air recovery on permitted streams may use wheels or enthalpy plates for higher total-energy recovery. The Innergy tech team and Winnergy Pro can help identify options; final selection rests with the design engineer and the AHJ.

Enthalpy devices (enthalpy plates or wheels) transfer moisture as well as heat, which helps moderate incoming humidity. For low-RH processes such as hygroscopic-powder handling, Innergy tech offers a passive dehumidification wheel (I4-D) and a U-shaped heat-pipe configuration; deep or precise control may combine these with active dehumidification in the air handler. Setpoints are defined by the facility’s requirements.

Innergy tech provides certified performance data through Winnergy Pro. Certified selections support design documentation and submittals; use them rather than generic figures.

Energy recovery is one measure that can support cleanroom energy-efficiency objectives. Depending on system airflow and outdoor-air fraction, exhaust-air energy recovery may also be required for qualifying systems under applicable energy codes. Confirm applicability with the AHJ.