Temperature and Humidity mapping of a controlled enclosure-important questions answered.

Temperature and Humidity mapping of a controlled enclosure-important questions answered.

What is a temperature/humidity controlled enclosure?

“Any device which provides a space in which temperature and/or humidity is controlled. Temperature controlled enclosures are designed to maintain a specific temperature and humidity within their working volume, and must not expose their contents to conditions beyond their tolerance limits.

What is ‘Mapping’? Sample temperature and humidity report from mapping

Mapping refers to creating a temperature and humidity plan of an enclosure. Through placement of multiple temporary recording devices (dataloggers), a user is able to see the temperature and humidity for each chosen location of a room.

Should the results of a mapping show inconsistencies between different locations, the maintenance team should be consulted.

The enclosure should be remapped after any changes to the layout of the room or the equipment.

Why Map?

Homogeneity: Mapping reflects the conditions within the enclosure. If there are any ‘cold’ or ‘hot spots’ present, they will be immediately visible as the results from all dataloggers are compared.

Environmental effects: Through the placement of an external datalogger, adjacent to the enclosure, variations in environmental temperature and humidity can be recorded.

 The Process?

Assessment: Assess the layout and size of the room to calculate the number of dataloggers required.

A 3 dimensional plan of the room, detailing any shelving/racking can be a useful way of ensuring all working areas are being captured.

Clearly mark each location on the map, recording the assigned datalogger to each location.

Dataloggers: Once the number of dataloggers required is known, the correct datalogger must be chosen.

If the room has temperature and humidity control, the datalogger must have the capability to record both.

Calibration certificates for each datalogger must be provided, to confirm no certificate has passed its expiry date.

Protocol: A protocol should be created detailing the enclosure to be mapped, duration of mapping, number of dataloggers and locations. The acceptance criteria should be clearly detailed, providing instructions on the steps to be followed, if the mapping is deemed to have failed.

Final Report: When the mapping has been completed, a detailed report should be presented. Report should detail minimum, maximum and mean results for each datalogger, across the duration of the mapping.

Recovery Rate: If required, door openings can be included into the mapping process. The protocol should allow for clear recording of the time and duration of door openings. The acceptance criteria will need to be adjusted to allow for this.

A mapping should be completed on any temperature or humidity controlled equipment before it is introduced and used on site.

It is advisable to continue to map all temperature and humidity controlled enclosures annually to ensure consistency of performance.

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