Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Asaliyah
Al Asaliyah in south Jeddah hosts many restaurants and cafes in mixed residential and commercial buildings, so HVAC must carefully balance the kitchen hood against general ventilation. Alrabih designs systems that keep cooking odours and smoke away from the dining area.
- Pressure balance
- Make-up air
- Coil protection
Clients We're Proud to Serve
Organisations and companies that trusted Alrabih with their projects.
When your restaurant needs a specialist
- 1
Kitchen smells reaching diners
When the extract hood pulls out more air than is replaced, the kitchen goes negative and draws air from the dining room, bringing smells with it. The answer is calculating the volumes and delivering make-up air close to the hood.
- 2
Dining room stays warm despite the AC
A full dining room in Jeddah's humid summer raises heat and moisture load noticeably. Design must account for peak occupancy, and the right diffuser layout achieves even cooling across tables, not cold near the duct and warm in the corners.
- 3
Repeated breakdowns in kitchen AC units
Grease vapour from the burners settles on evaporator coils and blocks airflow, raising pressure and stressing the compressor. Placing the unit away from grease currents and scheduling coil cleaning reduces this damage significantly.
Who it's for
Opening a new restaurant that needs a full HVAC system
We design the cooling and make-up air system from scratch to match your kitchen and dining layout before you open.
Ask on WhatsAppYour restaurant is running but smells are reaching the tables
We survey the existing system, measure pressure between kitchen and dining, then correct the fault by adding make-up air or adjusting the air balance.
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What the work covers
- Kitchen and dining pressure survey
- Make-up air for hood
- Diffuser layout for dining
- Ductwork to SMACNA standards
- Air balance commissioning
How we work
How we work
- 1
Site and kitchen survey
We visit, measure the spaces, review the existing extract hood and burner positions, and find where negative pressure is occurring before any design work.
- 2
Design and equipment selection
We design the make-up air and cooling systems together, and select units from Carrier, YORK, General, Midea, Gree or Smart Gold to suit the space and the load.
- 3
Duct fabrication and installation
We fabricate ducts in our workshop from G90 galvanised sheet to precise sizes, install the units, and run Mueller copper in runs of up to 30 metres without welded joints, insulated with Armaflex.
- 4
Balancing and handover
We run the system and adjust dampers until the kitchen sits at slight negative and the dining room at slight positive, confirming that doors open easily and no kitchen smell crosses to the guests.
Integrated design or separate units with no balance?
| Alrabih | The usual way | |
|---|---|---|
| Make-up air | Calculated and delivered to the hood | Usually not addressed |
| Dining pressure | Slight positive, no smell transfer | Negative, pulls kitchen air in |
| Coil protection | Unit placed away from grease | Repeated breakdowns |
| Cooling spread | Diffusers sized for full occupancy | Uneven, warm corners |
| Kitchen ductwork | Fabricated in-house from G90 sheet | Off-the-shelf sizes, poor fit |
Everything your AC needs, from one team
From system design and duct fabrication to installation, commissioning and maintenance.
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Some of our work
Ductwork, rooftop units and diffusers, from work we've completed in Jeddah.
Customer reviews
What our customers say
- Muhammadramzan 2641
“MashaaAllah. Services are so good. Behaviour and kindness 100/100. Prices are less then Market. Fully recommended”
- shahzeb armani
“Wow. Prices are so comfortable. Outstanding services. People are so talented and nice”
- Tawfik AlyawerLocal Guide
“U can find all u need for air conditioning”
Your satisfaction matters to us! If you had a great experience with us, we'd love a 5-star rating and a kind review.
Worked with us? Leave a reviewService areas
We come to you anywhere in Jeddah
From Al Shiraa and Al Yaqout in the north to Al Thaghr and Al Quraiyat in the south, with our base in Al Aziziyah.
What sets this district apart
Al Asaliyah is a growing district of multi-storey flats and residential units mixed with shops and cafes, meaning restaurants and cafes often occupy ground floors or mid-level spaces within residential buildings. When the kitchen hood runs at full speed, it can pull air from the dining area or push odours to the flats above, so the design must supply make-up air and balance pressure carefully to keep both customers and neighbours comfortable.
Al Asaliyah is in south Jeddah, a mixed residential and commercial district with a growing number of modern cafes and restaurants.
Most restaurants and cafes here need a powerful hood because the spaces are tight and natural airflow between floors is limited.
The AC setup in Al Asaliyah
- 1
Central AC with a high-capacity hood
Most restaurants here need central horizontal or vertical AC with a separate high-capacity hood because the layout separates kitchen from dining.
- 2
Dual drainage for condensation and grease
In the humid coastal climate, we fit a separate reinforced drain from the kitchen area and a distinct drain for the AC to prevent blockages.
- 3
Pressure-balancing to stop odour transfer
We fit a relief valve and balancing supply in the dining zone to ensure the powerful kitchen hood does not carry odours to neighbouring floors or areas.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Asaliyah
- 1
Tell us the kitchen's location and size
We need to know whether the kitchen is ground floor or higher, and how many cooktops and ovens, to size the hood correctly.
- 2
Confirm routing space for ducts through floors
In multi-storey buildings, we need to confirm there is a safe route for hood and drainage pipes between the kitchen and the roof or exterior.
- 3
Point out the electrical panel and switches
We need access to the main panel to verify available capacity and wire the hood and AC to separate circuits safely.
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FAQ
Questions about Restaurant & cafe HVAC
What is the difference between make-up air and kitchen air conditioning?
Make-up air replaces the volume the hood extracts, its purpose is pressure balance not necessarily cooling. Kitchen air conditioning tackles burner heat and lowers temperature for the staff. Both may be needed, and the site survey determines which your kitchen requires.
Do outdoor seating areas need a different approach in Jeddah?
Yes. In Jeddah's heat and humidity, fans alone are not enough during peak months. The right option depends on whether the space has an open roof or a partial enclosure and how large the area is. We assess the spot and propose suitable units after the survey.
How are AC coils protected from kitchen grease?
The first step is design: we position kitchen units in airflow paths away from the grease rising off the burners. In preventive maintenance contracts we schedule pressure coil cleaning before build-up raises stress on the compressor, because early cleaning is simpler and less costly than a repair.
Can existing ductwork in an operating restaurant be repaired or does it need replacing?
The decision follows a duct inspection: we look for air leaks, grease build-up inside, and sheet corrosion from Jeddah's salty air. If the structure is sound we seal joints with Foster sealants and re-insulate with Kimmco. If not, we fabricate new sections in our workshop and replace the damaged runs.
Does a packed dining room during peak season affect how the AC performs?
Yes, every person in the room adds heat and moisture, and this is significant in Jeddah's summer. Design therefore accounts for full occupancy load, not average attendance, and diffusers are positioned to deliver even cooling across all tables. The exact layout is confirmed after the site survey.
My restaurant is in a residential building; will the HVAC bother the neighbours?
We balance pressure between the kitchen and common areas, fit a relief valve to stop odours entering the flats above, and supply make-up air to the kitchen.
A strong hood might pull air from the outdoor seating area, how do you solve that?
We design a separate supply system that maintains positive pressure in the dining and outdoor seating areas, so air does not get pulled toward the kitchen.
Jeddah's humidity is high; does that damage the AC coils?
Yes, coastal humidity speeds corrosion and scale, so we fit robust drainage and apply a protective coating to the coils in kitchen areas for easy cleaning.
The building's electrical capacity is limited; do the hood and AC need separate circuits?
Usually yes, the hood needs its own heavy-duty circuit and the AC another one, which depends on the building's electrical panel capacity and our engineer will confirm on the visit.
