An environmental chamber, also called a climatic chamber or climate chamber, is an enclosure used to test the effects of specified environmental conditions on biological items, industrial products, materials, and electronic devices and components.

Such a chamber can be used:

1. as a stand-alone test for environmental effects on test specimens
2. as preparation of test specimens for further physical tests or chemical tests
3. as environmental conditions for conducting testing of specimens

An environmental test chamber artificially replicates conditions which machinery, materials, devices or components might be exposed to. It is also used to accelerate the effects of exposure to the environment, sometimes at conditions not actually expected.

Chamber testing involves testing and exposing products to various environmental conditions in a controlled setting. Climatic Chamber testing and Thermal Shock testing are part of chamber testing. Climatic Chamber testing is a broad category of ways to simulate climate or excessive ambient conditions exposure for a product or a material under laboratory-controlled yet accelerated conditions. On the other hand, Thermal Shock testing is used to simulate how materials will react when exposed to changes in extreme climatic conditions, such as going from extremely cold to extremely hot conditions in a very short period of time (usually only few seconds).

These conditions may include:^[1]

• extreme temperatures
• sudden and extreme temperature variations - thermal shock
• altitude
• moisture or relative humidity
• electrodynamic vibrations
• electromagnetic radiation
• Cyclic corrosion testing
• salt spray
• rain
• weathering
• exposure to sun, causing UV degradation
• vacuum

Manufactured samples, specimens, or components are placed inside the chamber and subjected to one or more of these environmental parameters to determine reliability or measure after-effects such as corrosion. In the case of machinery such as internal combustion engines, byproducts such as emissions are monitored.

An environmental chamber can be a small room used both to condition test specimens and to conduct the test. It can be a smaller unit that's used for conditioning test items. Also, some chambers are small enough to be placed onto a universal testing machine or other test apparatus.

Many chambers are set at a certain set of conditions. Others can be programmed to cycle through specified sequences of conditions.

As test requirements may be relatively simple or complex, environmental test chambers vary widely in size, ranging from small units designed for placement on bench tops to large walk-in chambers. Test chambers generally have viewports or video feeds to allow for visual inspection of the sample during the test. Reach-in chambers provide an opening that technicians may use to handle test samples. Chambers providing interior visual lighting must take into account the heat generated and compensate accordingly.

As with the wide variance in size, a number of user control options are available, ranging from simple analog indicators up to more modern digital readouts with LCD displays. Chambers may be computer programmable, and networked or Web-enabled test chambers with built in web servers are also available.

• Mechanically cooled test chambers
• Liquid nitrogen cooled test chambers
• Modular Walk-in Chambers^[3]

Several standards organizations provide standards and guidance on environmental test chamber construction, temperature control standards, and engineering tolerances.

• Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology
• Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (formerly the American Refrigerant Institute)
• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers Air conditioning#Heating
• ASTM International
• Underwriters Laboratories
• NSF International
• FM Global
• Canadian Standards Association
• International Organization for Standardization
• MIL-STD-810, "Test Method Standard for Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests",
• IEC 60068, "Environmental Testing", with many parts.

• IEC 60068:

  This standard, published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), covers a wide range of environmental tests for electrotechnical products, including damp heat, low temperature, thermal shock, and vibration tests.

  
  
• IEC 61215, IEC 61646, IEC 62108:

  These standards specifically address testing of photovoltaic solar panels, focusing on thermal cycles, moist heat, and condensing-freezing.

  
  
• ISO 10993:

  This standard provides guidelines for the biological evaluation of medical devices, including testing for cytotoxicity, sensitization, and irritation.

  
  
• ISO 16750:

  This standard covers environmental conditions and testing for electrical and electronic equipment used in road vehicles.

  
  
• ICH Q1A (R2), ICH Q1B, ICH Q5C:

  These guidelines are used in the pharmaceutical industry for stability testing of active ingredients and finished drugs.

  
  

• MIL-STD-810:

  A U.S. military standard that includes a range of environmental testing procedures, including high humidity tests, and is commonly used for military and industrial equipment.

  
  
• JIS C 60068-2-78:

  A Japanese industrial standard focused on testing the performance of products and materials in humid and hot environments, particularly in electronics, automotive, and related fields.

  
  
• Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP):

  These practices are crucial in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and life sciences industries for ensuring consistent testing and process control.