How much floor space does a hospital PSA oxygen plant need?

A PSA plant's footprint follows the manufacturer's layout plus service space: WHO (2023) says the plant room may sometimes exceed 6 x 6 x 5 m, and a Global Fund overview (2025) gives one supplier's 12 m x 7 m minimum pad for a 20-foot container only as an example.

Does a PSA plant room need air conditioning?

WHO (2023) says PSA plants need a dedicated housing conditioned to keep the inside temperature between 5 and 35 °C, with adequate ventilation to replace oxygen-depleted air.

How high must the plant room be?

The minimum headroom comes from the supplier; for a container under a canopy, the Global Fund site readiness overview (2025) asks for at least 4 m of clear height, coordinated with the manufacturer.

How much space does a PSA oxygen plant need?

What sets the footprint

The manufacturer's layout. WHO's Foundations of medical oxygen systems (2023) says the housing should match the manufacturer's layout recommendations, allow space for servicing the equipment and depend on the plant configuration; UNDP (2025) also says housing dimensions must match the manufacturer's guidelines, with sufficient space for maintenance.
Access around the equipment. HTM 02-01 (2026), the NHS England guidance, asks for all-round access to the plant for maintenance and for allowance to change major components.
Cylinder storage. Where high-pressure cylinders are available, WHO (2023) asks for a separate cylinder storage room with space to keep cylinders apart and to manoeuvre full and empty ones, with a ramp of 6 to 8% slope, and if the plant fills cylinders, the Global Fund site readiness overview (2025) asks for dedicated storage space for empty and full cylinders.
Clearances. The Global Fund overview asks for air pollutants such as generator exhausts to be at least 10 m from the PSA plant, and WHO (2023) suggests that the nitrogen exhaust should end at least 3 m clear of any door, window or air intake.
Climate. WHO (2023) says PSA plants need a dedicated housing conditioned to keep the inside temperature between 5 and 35 °C, with ventilation that rapidly replaces oxygen-depleted air.

Containerised plants

For a containerised plant, the Global Fund site readiness overview (11 April 2025) says the concrete pad depends on the container size, 6.06 m (20 ft) or 12.2 m (40 ft), and on the manufacturer's requirements. As an example from one supplier, which it says will differ for other suppliers and must not be used for official drawings or construction, it gives minimum dimensions of 12 m x 7 m for a 20-foot container and 18 m x 7 m for a 40-foot one. The same overview asks for a forklift ramp at least 2.5 m wide with a slope no steeper than 12:1, a canopy with at least 4 m of clear height, coordinated with the manufacturer, and a fence door that can accommodate a forklift.

WHO (2023) notes that containerised and skid-mounted plants make installation smoother but are not feasible for bigger sizes, typically above 30 Nm³/h. For an existing building, the Global Fund overview asks for floor area and headroom that meet the supplier's minimum requirements, and the supplier provides a suggested layout drawing of the plant room. See containerised vs plant-room oxygen plants.

ULTRAOX plants

ULTRAOX SC plants are modular, and ULTRAOX SC and ST plants can be built according to the physical space available. For sites with no civil space or technical room, the ULTRAOX datasheet (2022) presents the container system, the ULTRAOX CO, built inside a sea container. The site must be clean, level and easily accessible by lifting machinery or a crane, and smokers must stay at least 10 metres away from the plant (ULTRAOX datasheet 2022). See what a site needs before an oxygen plant is installed.