HVAC Ventilation Solutions for Restaurants

It’s almost summertime, and things are beginning to open back up. We are sure that this is great news to restaurant owners, especially after the past year. But, are restaurants really ready for the summer heat and the crowds of people?  

There are a lot of things restaurant owners are probably working on to prepare for the busy summer season at full capacity. And we hope that proper ventilation is at the top of the list. One of the best ways to prepare for summer and an influx of building occupants is ensuring that your ventilation system is up-to-date and working at optimal efficiency. This simple HVAC solution can save you time and money, while also ensuring that your building occupants are safe, comfortable, and healthy.  

Here are a few recommended commercial HVAC ventilation solutions for restaurants from our manufacturing partner, Greenheck:  

1. Energy Recovery Ventilator:  The energy recovery wheel rotates between exhaust and supply airstreams and transfers both sensible (heat) and latent (moisture) energy. 

2. Combination Fire Smoke Dampers: Combination fire and smoke dampers are used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to protect duct and air transfer opening penetrations through fire smoke rated construction (walls and floors). These dampers are UL 555 and UL 555S classified. 

3. Centrifugal Supply Fans: Centrifugal roof supply fans include filtered and non-filtered belt-driven units. These fans are suitable for non-tempered kitchen make-up air or building supply air.  

4. Ceiling Exhaust Fans: The ceiling and cabinet fans are direct drive models that have forward-curved wheels for low sound and high efficiency. These are suitable for clean air applications, such as bathroom, storage room, or office exhaust fans. 

5. Kitchen Inline Fans: Inline fan models meet a wide range of applications in restaurants, commercial kitchens and other facilities. Units mount in the ceiling or on the floor. Performances range from several hundred cfm to over 100,000 cfm and pressure up to 10 in. wg. 

6. Centrifugal Downblast Exhaust Fans: Roof-mounted centrifugal downblast exhaust fans include direct- and belt-driven fans. These models have backward-inclined centrifugal wheels. These fans are suitable for applications exhausting relatively clean air. 

7. Kitchen Make-up Air Units: Select from a variety of make-up air units for commercial kitchen applications. Heating options include direct gas-fired, indirect gas-fired, steam, hot water and electric resistance. Available cooling options are evaporative cooling, direct expansion coils and chilled water coils. Each option ensures comfortable conditions for customers and staff.

8. Kitchen Centrifugal Upblast Exhaust Fans: Centrifugal upblast exhaust fans have direct and belt drive options with efficient backward-inclined centrifugal wheels and aerodynamic inlet cone, minimizing system effects. Motors on these fans are out of the airstream, making each suitable use in commercial kitchens. Typical applications include fume hood exhaust, kitchen grease exhaust and smoke control. 

9. Kitchen Exhaust Hoods: Type I and II kitchen hoods provide total kitchen ventilation solutions for the capture of grease or condensate within any commercial kitchen application, including restaurants, industrial cooking process, and cafeterias. While Fire Ready Range Hoods provide ventilation and integral fire suppression for non-commercial kitchens within a commercial space including nursing homes, dormitories and office lunchrooms. 

10. Kitchen Fire Suppression Systems: The first line of defense against fire in a commercial kitchen is the fire protection system installed in the exhaust hood. Select from a variety of factory pre-piped fire protection systems available from the two leading manufacturers, Amerex® and Ansul®. 

11. Kitchen Utility Distribution Systems: A Utility Distribution System (UDS) is a pre-engineered delivery system for the cooking equipment's utilities. It eliminates custom designed contractor built walls to bring the utilities to the cooking appliances. To build a contractor wall, engineers and consultants have to work together to design the utilities into the wall dependent on the cooking line-up. Plumbing, electrical and general contractors all have to work together to install the utility wall. Custom built utility walls are built for a specific cooking line-up and require hours of coordination to be built in the field. 

12. Kitchen Inline Fans: Inline fan models meet a wide range of applications in restaurants, commercial kitchens and other facilities. Units mount in the ceiling or on the floor. Performances range from several hundred cfm to over 100,000 cfm and pressure up to 10 in. wg. 

13. Kitchen Utility Sets: Utility sets are for use in many applications including continuous high-temperature, or grease-laden exhaust typical in many commercial kitchen and restaurant settings. Models are available with corrosion-resistant coating and spark-resistant construction. 

14. Penthouse Louver: Louvered penthouses for gravity intake or exhaust applications allow for considerable design flexibility in conventional or high-wind applications. These louvers have aluminum construction. Select models are available with mitered corners for clean seamless lines. Others are designed to withstand high wind pressure loads and wind-borne debris impact in coastal applications.  

Restaurant ventilation is important for employees, customers, and food safety. With the right ventilation system, restaurants can successfully control odors, minimize smoke and fumes, reduce contamination, improve air quality, have control over the temperatures, and reduce energy loss. All of which, sets restaurants and their customers up for an effective, safe, and enjoyable experience.  

For any additional questions or to talk about the best ventilation options for your restaurant, please contact your local Greenheck representative. 

Blog image and source: Greenheck