heat in the kitchen

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anybodyy have any good ideas on keeping the kitchen cool? we have a huge oven and lots of other cooking equipment that give off a lot of heat. we have 2 exhaust hoods with make up air too.
 
I use fans to circulate cool air from the cooler part of the store to the kitchen. This helps the A/C keep up.
Daddio
 
I have been going back over some older postings that did not attract a lot of answers.
In this posting, Heat in the kitchen. In this instance make up air is being used. Most make up air units are equipped to heat inbound air in the winter but are not equipped to cool inbound air in the summer. As a result of that configuration the MUA unit is sucking very hot air off the roof in the summer and dumping it into the kitchen. Some make up air units are equipped with evaporative air coolers but they are effective only in the very arid parts of the country and are rather useless in the humid parts of the nation. It is best to size the air conditioning (HVAC) system to supply the make up air or use a MUA unit that is equipped to cool inbound summer air.
 
That’s a problem I’ve seen in the past and guest made a very good observation:
It is best to size the air conditioning (HVAC) system to supply the make up air or use a MUA unit that is equipped to cool inbound summer air.
In my recent experience with building a half dozen stores in the past 2 years we’ve come up with a standard for HVAC:

1 ton of air per 200 square feet.

If you’ve got 1800 square feet, you need 9 tons of air, etc. For all you guys who have heat in the kitchen during your summer months, check it out. I’m sure you’ll find you don’t fit into these specifications.

-J_r0kk
 
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I have been fighting with the HVAC contractor for 2 years over this exact thing. His response is always “The enginerr didn"t design it that way.”

I told him to have the engineer come and work in my kitchen for a night when the ovens are going and the A/C can’t keep up. Guess what, he won’t do it.

So as summer approaches I will fight the battle again.
 
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j_r0kk:
That’s a problem I’ve seen in the past and guest made a very good observation:
It is best to size the air conditioning (HVAC) system to supply the make up air or use a MUA unit that is equipped to cool inbound summer air.
In my recent experience with building a half dozen stores in the past 2 years we’ve come up with a standard for HVAC:

1 ton of air per 200 square feet.

If you’ve got 1800 square feet, you need 9 tons of air, etc. For all you guys who have heat in the kitchen during your summer months, check it out. I’m sure you’ll find you don’t fit into these specifications.

-J_r0kk
 
I ment this to be attached to the above quote.

The above is a good rule of the thumb but the amount of hood exhaust is more likely to be the controlling factor. Most all jurisdictions now require that 100% of the exhausted air be replaced. Generally speaking, you will be able to allocate 40% CFM of the incoming fresh air from your HVAC system as make up air. Again generally speaking, there will be 400 CFM of outside air per ton of air conditioning being brought in. Of that 400 CFM 40% or 160 CFM per ton of A/C can be counted as make up air. Thus it follows that one ton of A/C is required for every 160 CFM of air exhausted through the hood.

Unfortunately hoods that do not have a UL or ELT testing laboratory seal and a certified low CFM rating will require substantial make up air. For instance a non certified hood that requires 3200 CFM exhaust would need 20 ton of A/C for make up air. Where as the same size certified compensating hood would need, in most jurisdictions, 1600 CFM exhaust and only 10 ton of A/C. A 20 Ton A/C in most pizza shops of 1600 to 1800 sq. ft. would be a lot of overkill. 10 ton is reasonable. Operations with good sized seating capacity opens a new can of worms.
 
We have equipped thousands of shops nation wide and have no complaints about excessive heat in the kitchen.

We use certified compensating hoods and substantial A/C

Most all complaints about heat in the kitchen are due to not enough A/C

Building departments do not require cooling in the kitchen, they are concerned with extracting cooking vapors. Just because the building department approves the installation does not insure sufficient cooling.

George Mills
 
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In many (most?) places a LL is required to provide conditioned space in order to receive a certificate of occupancy… but this is a classic example of “don’t ask, don’t get”. If you move in and the equipment does not have enough capacity, most landlords are going to tell you it is your problem.

For those looking at leasing property where the A/C belongs to the LL (even though you may be required to maintain it) it is important to review the HVAC description in the lease. I would suggest asking for HVAC sufficient to maintain a temperature between 70 - 80 degrees F throughout the year in the tenant’s intended use in all working spaces of the property and an even tighter standard in the dining area if any. This makes it the LANDLORD’S problem if you discover the equipment is not sufficient for the use.
 
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We almost never find sufficient A/C in the buildings selected by our clients.

It would often be ok if it not for the cooking equipment that is to be installed and if seating is to be included the added occupancy requires more A/C.

George Mills
 
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The air conditioner and air exhaust system more helpful for normal temperature in kitchen.
The wall chimneys are helpful to ventilates the air in kitchen.
 
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