Conductive, dissipative and anti-static flooring
Conductive, dissipative and anti-static floors carry static to earth before it can damage electronics or ignite vapour. Hychem 177ESD systems are dissipative (resistance to earth up to 10⁹ Ω) for electronics handling, cleanrooms and laboratories; Hychem 266ESD systems are conductive (up to 10⁶ Ω) for fire and explosion-risk areas, solvent stores and munitions. Each comes as HD, a 2 mm self-levelling floor for vehicular traffic, or LD, a thin-film roller coat for light traffic, and carries static through a carbon nanotube network to an earthed primer plane.
What the floor has to handle
- Static
- resistance to earth within the ESD programme's limits — dissipative up to 10⁹ Ω, conductive up to 10⁶ Ω
- People
- body voltage generated by walking, with ESD footwear
- Ignition risk
- vapour, dust or fuel where a spark must never form — a conductive system
- Traffic
- trolleys and vehicles on the 2 mm HD systems; light foot traffic on the thin-film LD systems
- Earthing
- earth points on a conductive or dissipative primer plane — one per 100 m² at most and one per slab
- Heavy Duty Industrial SolutionsHychem 177ESD HDDissipative antistatic epoxy floor system, 2 mm self-levelling, for vehicular trafficView system Data sheetChemical resistantSlip resistant
- Heavy Duty Industrial SolutionsHychem 266ESD HDConductive antistatic epoxy floor system, 2 mm self-levelling, for vehicular trafficView system Data sheetChemical resistantSlip resistant
- Concrete Sealers and CoatingsHychem 177ESD LDDissipative antistatic epoxy floor system, thin film, 2 × 0.2 L/m², for light trafficView system Data sheetSlip resistant
- Concrete Sealers and CoatingsHychem 266ESD LDConductive antistatic epoxy floor system, thin film, 2 × 0.2 L/m², for light trafficView system Data sheetSlip resistant
Also suits every industry
Standards that apply
| Standard | Title | What it means for the floor |
|---|---|---|
| IEC 61340-5-1 | Protection of electronic devices from electrostatic phenomena — General requirements | The ESD control programme for an electronics area; the floor is one element of it, with footwear and grounding. |
| IEC 61340-4-1 | Electrical resistance of floor coverings and installed floors | The test method for a floor's resistance to ground (Rg) and point to point. |
| IEC 61340-4-5 | Electrostatic protection of footwear and flooring in combination with a person | Tests the floor, the shoes and the person together — the body voltage a worker actually generates. |
| EN 1081 | Resilient floor coverings — Determination of the electrical resistance | The European resistance-to-earth test the 177ESD and 266ESD ratings refer to. |
Which product holds which certificate: certifications and approvals.
FAQs about conductive, dissipative and anti-static flooring
What is the difference between conductive, dissipative and anti-static flooring?
How fast the floor carries static to earth. A dissipative floor (Hychem 177ESD: up to 10⁹ Ω to earth) protects sensitive electronics; a conductive floor (Hychem 266ESD: up to 10⁶ Ω) discharges static fastest, for fire and explosion-risk areas. Anti-static is the everyday word for both; ESD flooring is the specified, tested version.
Which Hychem system should I specify?
177ESD for electronics manufacturing, cleanrooms, laboratories and data centres; 266ESD where static must be discharged fastest, such as solvent stores, munitions and explosion-risk areas. Choose HD (2 mm self-levelling) where vehicles or trolleys run and LD (a thin film) for light traffic.
Does the floor alone make an ESD-protected area?
No. IEC 61340-5-1 treats the floor as one part of an ESD programme with footwear, grounding and regular testing. IEC 61340-4-1 and EN 1081 test the floor’s resistance to earth; Hychem verifies it between coats and again at handover.
How is a conductive floor earthed?
Earth points go in once the primer has cured — at most one per 100 m², at least one per slab, 40–100 mm from the wall — and a black conductive or dissipative primer plane is laid over them. The carbon nanotube network in the topping carries charge down to that plane, so copper tape is needed only at each point. A licensed electrician connects every point to the building’s earth before handover.
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Specification service
Specifying for this environment?
Tell us the area, the resistance your ESD programme sets and the traffic, and we pick the system and its earthing.
or call 1300 HYCHEM