Negative Pressure Envelop for Controlled Environment Rooms

An insulated room, structured as an enclosure having any of a floor, a ceiling and one or more walls, comprising an air extraction system, including a fan and a filter and having an intake port and an exhaust port;

• wherein any of said floor, ceiling or wall is structured as two mutually parallel panels, a given distance apart and defining an insulation space between them,
• wherein one or more of said insulation spaces are fluidly interconnected, to form a Negative Pressure Envelope (NPE),
• wherein the intake port of the air extraction subsystem is fluidly connected to the NPE and the exhaust port of the air extraction subsystem is fluidly connected to the atmosphere or any other surrounding space and
• wherein the air extraction subsystem is configured and operative to extract air from the NPE into the atmosphere while maintaining an air pressure within the NPE substantially below the atmospheric pressure and the air pressure within the insulated room.

A method for preventing leakage of contaminants from an insulated room to its surroundings and from the surroundings into the insulated room, the insulated room being enclosed by any of a floor, a ceiling and one or more walls, the method comprising—

• providing at least one inner panel and disposing it parallel to, and a given distance from, a corresponding one of said floor, ceiling or wall, to form an insulation space between them;
• optionally fluidly interconnect a plurality of the insulation spaces;
• configuring any one insulation space or said fluidly interconnected plurality of insulation spaces into a Negative Pressure Envelope (NPE), wherein the air pressure may be maintained below the atmospheric pressure;
• providing an air extraction system, including a fan and a filter and having an intake port and an exhaust port and disposing the air extraction system so that its intake port is fluidly connected to the NPE and its exhaust port is fluidly connected to the atmosphere or any other surrounding space;
• operating said fan so as to extract air from the NPE into the atmosphere and to maintain the air pressure within the NPE substantially below the atmospheric pressure and the air pressure within the insulated room.