ISO Class 8 and 9 cleanrooms: how a world-class electronics plant is climate-controlled

What does it mean for a cleanroom to be “ISO Class 8”? In simple terms: a strict limit on how many dust particles may be suspended in the air. In electronics manufacturing, a single invisible speck can ruin a component. That is why plants in the semiconductor and precision electronics industries invest so heavily in the air their production lines breathe.

Clio designed and delivered for Foxconn (Tlaquepaque, Jalisco) a 1,500-ton chilled water refrigeration system with temperature and humidity control for ISO Class 8 and ISO 9 cleanrooms, under the international standard 14644-1, with air extraction and filtration. For Sumida Components de Mexico (Zapopan) we installed a variable volume chilled water air conditioning system, centrifugal liquid chillers, low-velocity air handling units and digital control, with 420 tons of capacity and handling 180,000 cubic feet of air per minute.

Behind those figures lie three key ideas. First: chilled water makes it possible to move large amounts of cooling efficiently throughout the plant. Second: variable volume adapts consumption to real demand, instead of burning energy at full tilt all the time. Third: filtration and controlled pressure are what genuinely keep particles out.

For a plant manager this translates into something concrete: less rejected product, stable processes and an electricity bill that does not spiral. The cleanroom is not an expense; it is part of the quality process.