Calibration Room Environmental Condition Requirements

T

Tavares

Hello All

I want to known if is possibel what kind of environmental conditions must have a calibration room.

Thanks

Tavares
 
A

Al Dyer

It depends on what you are calibrating. For simple items I would start with temp. and humidity.

I'm sure other will have some other types.

ASD...
 
A

Al Dyer

I sure can't help here, I have trouble screwing in a light bulb!

ASD...
 

Jerry Eldred

Forum Moderator
Super Moderator
You need to review the specifications of the items you calibrate, and assure your calibration laboratory (room) area is environmentally controlled to the spec for the unit(s) with the tightest environmental requirement. If you are doing relatively low accuracy electrical calibrations, the requirements may not be that tight. Some examples of tighter specs I have seen are as narrow as 23 Deg C +/- 1 Deg C with no greater than 1 Deg change per hour and %RH 45% RH +/- 5% RH. That is for a higher accuracy environment. I have also seen as loose as 23 Deg C +/-5 Deg C and %RH Greater than 30 %RH and less than 60 %RH. For low accuracy electrical calibrations, your environmental requirements are likely to be closer to the second set of requirements. But you MUST review the specs of the units you actually use. Whatever the manufacturer specifies for those units is the limits you must maintain. There may be units where the manufacturer does not specify environmental limits. Electrical power plant switchboard meters, for example are designed for a very wide range of environmental conditions. The calibrator you use, however, may have much tighter limits. Review all of the items, and spec to meet the tightest one.
 
D

DICKIE

You might get some help by looking at NCSL recommended practice 14 "Guide to selecting Laboratory environments"
 
B

blueicecube

Am afraid I can't get a copy of NCSL guide. Is there any other standard reference that can help me to guide me to find a reference for environmental condition for electrical lab?

It seems the auditor may need a reference for my selected temperature control.
 

Stijloor

Leader
Super Moderator
Am afraid I can't get a copy of NCSL guide. Is there any other standard reference that can help me to guide me to find a reference for environmental condition for electrical lab?

It seems the auditor may need a reference for my selected temperature control.

Hello blueicecube,

This is by no means an all-inclusive resource, but look here, and scroll through this book. Something is better than nothing. ;)

Stijloor.
 
F

fabQA

Electrical power plant switchboard meters, for example are designed for a very wide range of environmental conditions. The calibrator you use, however, may have much tighter limits. Review all of the items, and spec to meet the tightest one.

So the operating range of the tool does not mean calibration environment range? I reported an NC on our vendor calibrating our tool beyond the relative humidity allowable documented in our internal spec (calibrated at 55+/-10% RH, vs spec of 43+/-5%RH). The vendor, who is the manufacturer of the tool -- power sensor -- said that this should not be a concern as the power sensor can operate up to 95% RH as stated in the tool's technical spec.
Our head of internal audit thinks that the calibration environment limits should follow the max-min limits of the tool's operating range and asked us to change our calibration spec. I disagreed as there is no guarantee from vendor that it can give us the required accuracy throughout the operating range. Even if the vendor is the manufacturer and is the sole calibrator of this equipment, they should answer in terms of recommended calibration environment and not in terms of the operating range of the tool.

Secondly, does the manufacturer of the power sensor recommend the calibration environment or does the user decide the limits based on usage environment? In the case above, the spec of 43+/-5%RH is based on our usage environment. Should we change our calibration spec to suite the tool's operating range? Because this is what our head of internal audit thinks -- we should modify our spec.
 
M

merrick65

I know this is a little off subject but could anyone recommend a thermostat to keep the lab at a constant temperature. Ex. a thermostat that could be programmed to turn on the heat once the temperature lowers to 66 and the air conditioning to kick on when the temperature reaches 70. Right now we have an older thermostat that can only be programmed to do only one function; heat or air. This works out well in either the dead of winter or in the summer, we have problems when the seasons change.
 
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