How to Design Restaurant Kitchen Ventilation Systems

How should restaurant kitchen ventilation be designed? Grease fumes harm staff health; ventilation exhausts smoke and supplies fresh air. See below.

Design principles

1. Avoid return-air AC in cook rooms: split, VRF, fan-coil, and return-air all-air systems foul with grease and lose capacity. Prefer 100% outdoor-air AC or supply/exhaust (grease) systems.

2. Keep horizontal grease ducts short: slope toward the hood; keep duct velocity above 8 m/s to limit grease buildup and airflow loss.

3. Zone exhaust by time and function: do not share one grease system across rooms with different schedules—one active room should not force the whole system on.

4. Add general extract: grease exhaust runs only while cooking; general extract handles off-peak ventilation and keeps the kitchen negative.

5. Design makeup air for both modes: AHU outdoor air plus natural makeup for cooking exhaust; AHU alone for general ventilation when grease fans are off.

6. Install grease filtration: ESP, absorption separators, or water wash hoods per local rules (water wash ~93% grease capture; allow ~100–150 Pa pressure drop).

7. Use kitchen-duty axial fans or remote-motor cabinets: ordinary axial fans with motors in the airstream foul and overheat—avoid them.

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