This question has touched upon the key maintenance points for the use of the air shower! The service life of high-efficiency HEPA filters mainly depends on the usage environment, filtration load and maintenance conditions. Under the conventional usage scenarios in the electronics industry, the service life is usually 1 to 3 years.
Core influencing factors
Environmental dust concentration
When there is a lot of dust in the external environment of the clean area (such as near industrial areas or major traffic arteries), the filters are prone to clogging, and their lifespan may be shortened to less than one year.
If there are primary/medium efficiency filters for pre-treatment at the front end, the load on HEPA can be reduced and its service life can be extended to 2-3 years.
Usage frequency and load
The service life of high-flow and continuously operating material shower rooms in electronics factories (such as those used for more than 8 hours a day) is about 30% shorter than that of those used intermittently.
When handling dusty goods (such as unsealed casings and packaging materials), the clogging speed of the filter will accelerate and it needs to be replaced in advance.
Maintenance and monitoring
Regular cleaning of the primary and medium efficiency filters (it is recommended to replace them every 1 to 3 months) can significantly extend the service life of HEPA.
If a differential pressure gauge is installed, the HEPA filter must be replaced immediately when the pressure difference reaches twice the initial resistance.
Special attention for the electronics industry
In high-precision production scenarios such as semiconductors and chips, if a decline in filtration efficiency (below 99.99%@0.3μm) is detected even before the end of the life cycle, it should be replaced in a timely manner.
For workshops that are damp or have corrosive gases, HEPA filters made of anti-corrosion materials should be selected; otherwise, their lifespan may be shortened due to material aging. ​