Best Ventilation Systems for Restaurants in 2022

The issue of ventilating a kitchen and restaurant is more challenging than it may appear on the surface. Consider your regular extraction fan above your stove: This is crucial to help eliminate excess smoke and grease from the air. In a restaurant, where cooking takes place on a much larger scale, a highly-effective ventilation systems is necessary to remove heat, smoke, and other substances from the air. As well as a more pleasant dining experience for guests, it also makes the air much healthier to breathe.

Why are ventilation systems important?

Diners go to restaurants with high expectations when it comes to temperature. They expect to eat at a comfortable temperature – nothing too hot or cold. A faulty ventilation system can easily make the environment much too warm.

Adding another layer of complexity to the challenge of ventilating restaurants is the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the virus is airborne, a poorly-ventilated setting can increase infections. Droplets of the virus are able to linger and travel more than a meter in the air if there is no effective ventilation system to replace the air.

The logic around COVID-19 remains true for other types of airborne viruses, so restaurant ventilation has always been important in this regard.

An HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) system does its job by replacing inside air with outside air. This keeps the air fresh and free of viruses, smoke, heat, and other unpleasant things for restaurant guests.

What are some of the best ventilation options for restaurants in 2022?

HVAC systems are the standard for restaurant ventilation. But, are there ways to build on the traditional HVAC system in 2022?

UV-C tubes

These are devices that can be installed into HVAC ductwork to reduce the impact of airborne microorganisms. They have germicidal properties, which effectively ‘kill’ a virus before it can infect someone inside the restaurant. OSRAM UV-C tubes are great at adapting to HVAC systems due to their transparent long-life coating and soft glass tube.

Grease exhaust hoods

Hoods are not new technology, but they are an important ventilation feature for any kitchen. Place ventilation hoods over areas that produce heat such as ovens, and be sure to include grease exhaust hoods to clean the air that travels around the restaurant.

Fire suppression system.

Many HVAC systems will require that fire suppression equipment is installed for the safety of everyone in the restaurant.

Makeup air systems

These systems can bring in clean, outside air to replace the air that is used inside. This can keep the indoor air pressure at a healthy level, meaningless movement of smoke, heat, and harmful gases.

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Jack Vale is a writer from Happy Writers, Co. in partnership with silverware wholesaler Silver Superstore.