Over the past five years, Terra has manufactured nearly 1,500 UL-approved cleanrooms with industry-leading build times. Selecting the right cleanroom system is pivotal when designing controlled environments. Cleanroom panel designs and material choices significantly impact performance, cleanability, and customization. This guide details cleanroom panel formats, hybrid and specialty designs, material options, and their implications.
Cleanroom Panel Formats

Stick-Built Cleanroom Panels
Stick-built cleanroom panels rely on traditional framing techniques, such as steel stud frames, paired with cost-effective materials like gypsum board. These systems are ideal for facilities with unique spatial requirements, including corridor walkways, extra-wide spans, and customized geometries. Treated surfaces, such as fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) and epoxy coatings, often enhance durability and moisture resistance, ensuring long-term performance even in high-humidity environments.
Hybrid Cleanroom Panels
Hybrid cleanroom panels combine the benefits of modular and stick-built systems, offering a balance between design freedom, adaptability, and hygienic performance. Integrated utility plenums allow for seamless installation of MEP connections while maintaining a clean and unobstructed appearance. BioSafe® Hybrid Modular Panels feature flush finishes and FDA-grade sealant for a leak-tight system, ensuring optimal cleanliness and scalability.
Modular Cleanroom Panels
Modular cleanroom panels are pre-fabricated for quick assembly, adaptability, and minimal disruption, making them ideal for industries with dynamic requirements like biotechnology or contract manufacturing. These systems support rapid reconfiguration and seamless integration for expansion.
Hardwall Cleanroom Panels
Hardwall cleanroom panels feature smooth, non-porous surfaces that resist particle accumulation and allow for easy cleaning. Though not inherently airtight, hardwall panels can be sealed for containment environments like negative-pressure suites. Terra’s BioSafe® hardwall panels are suggested for use with aggressive sterilization agents and frequent cleaning cycles.
Softwall Cleanroom Panels
Softwall cleanrooms provide a lightweight, mobile, and cost-effective solution for controlled environments. Panels, typically made from vinyl or static-dissipative PVC, offer easy installation and reconfiguration to accommodate evolving operational needs. While capable of achieving ISO 6 standards, softwall systems are less efficient at higher airflow rates due to uncontrolled air escape, making them unsuitable for environments requiring tight humidity and temperature control.
Hybrid and Specialty Wall Panel Designs
Hybrid uPVC Panels
Hybrid uPVC panel cleanrooms integrate aluminum honeycomb or foam cores with a laminated steel shell, ensuring durability and hygiene. Pre-formed corners and cold-welded seams create a monolithic, crack-free finish that meets stringent cGMP, GLP, and ASTM standards.
uPVC laminate finishes provide a robust, easy-to-clean surface resistant to disinfectants, acids, and corrosives. Seamless transitions between walls, ceilings, and floors maintain an airtight system, reducing contamination risk and ensuring compatibility with advanced cleanroom requirements.
Cold Rooms
Cold rooms, also called temperature-controlled cleanrooms, use insulated, double-wall panels to maximize thermal stability and prevent heat loss.
Modular Cold Rooms feature 4-inch polyurethane foam core panels with R-30 insulation, ensuring high energy efficiency and uniform temperature control. Depending on the requirements, cold room temperatures can range from typical walk-in refrigerator levels to much lower operating temperatures, reaching as low as -40°F. Digital systems enable remote monitoring, data logging, and seamless integration with Building Management Systems (BMS). Programmable test cycles and backup cooling options ensure reliability, even during extended unmanned operations.
Wall Cladding Panels
Hygienic Wall Cladding provides a seamless solution for upgrading existing walls to cleanroom-compliant standards with minimal disruption. These hygienic wall claddings are ideal for start-up and renovation projects in industries such as medical, pharmaceutical, cleanroom, and food and beverage.
Designed to meet ISO Class 5–8 cleanliness specifications per ISO 14644-1, the panels are heat-welded to create a seamless, moisture-impermeable seal. They are resistant to rust, rot, and stains, and can withstand high-pressure washing and direct steam cleaning. These panels meet ASTM standards for fire and material performance, including ASTM E-84, D638, D790, D256, and D648. Each panel requires two adhesive tape pieces and two adhesive caulk applications for secure installation, offering a robust and long-lasting solution for cleanroom environments.
Fire and Smoke Rated Panels
Fire-rated cleanroom wall panels align with FM 4910 and ASTM E84, offering resistance to ignition and minimal smoke generation when exposed to flames. These panels are constructed from materials that maintain structural integrity under fire conditions, ensuring that cleanroom operations can resume quickly after an incident.
Terra's FM 4910 polypropylene panels offer protection against combustion while maintaining high cleanliness levels. These cleanroom-rated panels are well suited for pharmaceutical and semiconductor environments where fire safety is a concern.
Types of Cleanroom Panels and Material Selection
Cleanroom wall materials are critical for determining overall performance, durability, and cleanability. Modern cleanroom panels balance advanced materials like polycarbonate, uPVC, and fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) with traditional options such as stainless steel and aluminum. Terra offers a variety of wall panels, including epoxy-coated uPVC, stainless steel, aluminum core, plastic, and painted polyester.
Aluminum-core cleanroom panels are lightweight, cost-effective, and widely used for structural integrity in modular systems. When paired with materials like FRP or polycarbonate, aluminum panels offer enhanced impact resistance and cleanliness. Aluminum honeycomb panels, inspired by hexagonal geometry, provide exceptional rigidity with minimal material usage, ensuring strength without imposing heavy loads on supporting structures.
Acrylic panels are valued for their transparency, impact resistance, and ease of customization, making them suitable for cleanroom environments requiring light transmission and visibility. Amber acrylic panels, specifically designed to block UV light in the 280–400 nm range, are ideal for protecting sensitive processes in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and microelectronics.
Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) panels offer greater chemical and high-temperature resistance compared to standard PVC, making them suitable for environments requiring exposure to aggressive cleaning agents.
Double-wall insulated panels with foam cores provide excellent thermal stability, reducing energy costs and maintaining tighter control over internal temperature, humidity, and static generation. These systems are ideal for temperature-sensitive industries such as electronics assembly and pharmaceutical powder production.
Fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) panels excel in cleanrooms that demand frequent sterilization and chemical resistance.
Terra’s GLASBORD® FRP panels meet ISO 5 through ISO 8 standards with enhanced durability and resistance to mold growth, verified through ASTM testing. These panels feature patented surfacing technology that ensures uniform sealing, enhanced durability, low particle emission rates, and microbial growth mitigation.
Polycarbonate viewing panels provide a lightweight and impact-resistant alternative, often used in areas requiring enhanced safety or flexibility.
Transparent cleanroom panels made from tempered glass, polycarbonate, or acrylic are essential for environments requiring visibility and light transmission. While tempered glass offers superior scratch resistance, polycarbonate panels provide lightweight flexibility and impact resistance. Acrylic panels, with 92% light transmission, offer exceptional optical clarity comparable to glass.
Powder-coated steel panels ensure unmatched rigidity and airtight seals through double-wall construction and closed-cell gaskets. Designed for structural stability, these panels support aggressive cleaning protocols while reducing surface irregularities.
Stainless steel panels, particularly BioSafe® stainless steel, are the industry standard for environments requiring aggressive sterilization, chemical compatibility, and ISO Class 4 configurations. Their seamless, non-porous surfaces eliminate microbial crevices, ensuring high cleanliness and efficient decontamination.
What's the Best Option for Me?
Selecting the appropriate cleanroom panel format—stick-built, hybrid, or modular—ensures operational efficiency and compatibility with controlled environments. Modular panels, including hardwall and softwall systems, offer scalability and flexibility, while hybrid and specialty designs like uPVC panels, cold rooms, and fire-rated systems address industry-specific requirements. Material selection, whether aluminum, stainless steel, FRP, or advanced polymers, determines long-term performance, cleanability, and structural resilience, enabling facilities to maintain strict contamination control and operational standards.
Need Help Designing Your Cleanroom System?
Terra Universal is California's leading manufacturer in the design and fabrication of cleanrooms and controlled environments. Additionally, we provide a full suite of services to help you navigate complexities during the validation, certification, or qualification of a new facility build.
Shop Terra's cleanroom lighting solutions online for immediate pricing. Call now for a free consultation or a same-day quote. Our experts are ready to assist you with tailored recommendations and factory support.
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