Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Ghadeer
In Al Ghadeer, north Jeddah, restaurants and cafés need robust HVAC systems to handle intense heat, humidity and cooking steam. Alrabih designs precise pressure balance with hoods and fresh air supply to keep the environment cool and healthy for guests and staff.
- 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 Ghadeer is a growing modern district with diverse restaurants and cafés, from small to large, many in shopping malls or residential complexes. These restaurants need strong cooling because exterior heat is intense and humidity combined with kitchen steam heavily burdens the system. Restaurants in malls must also coordinate with mall management to ensure their hood does not affect neighbouring shops.
Al Ghadeer is in north Jeddah, a modern, active district with many restaurants and cafés in shopping malls and hotels.
Most restaurants here are fully sealed and depend on robust central AC, with separate kitchen hoods connected to the mall's central exhaust system.
The AC setup in Al Ghadeer
- 1
Strong central AC in fully sealed space
Fully sealed restaurants here rely on a powerful central AC unit with capacity enough for high exterior heat and internal kitchen steam.
- 2
Hood connected to the mall's central system
The hood connects to the mall's central exhaust system, reducing the load on the restaurant's own AC and preventing impact on neighbouring shops.
- 3
High-efficiency filters and strong moisture drainage
We use advanced filters and dual moisture drainage to protect coils from both high humidity and grease together.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Ghadeer
- 1
Contact mall management first
If the restaurant is in a mall, confirm mall management's permission and coordinate the visit time and work on the hood and shared ducts.
- 2
Tell us about power consumption and load
Tell us the space size, expected guest numbers, cooking types and main equipment so we can accurately assess the heat load.
- 3
Confirm access to outdoor units and ducts
Confirm outdoor AC and hood units are accessible from the roof or common areas, and existing ducts do not block maintenance access.
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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.
Our restaurant is in a mall, and our hood affects the neighbouring shops, what do we do?
We need to properly isolate your hood and connect it to the mall's central exhaust system. If the central system is insufficient, we add a separate extraction unit with insulated ducts that do not affect neighbouring shops.
Our AC cannot keep up with the heat at peak times, especially with the hood running, what can we do?
We need a full system audit: current cooling capacity, filter efficiency, and confirming fresh air supply is properly balanced. We may need to add an extra AC unit or improve air distribution.
Humidity is very high in the restaurant, and coils get dirty fast, is that normal?
Yes, Al Ghadeer's high external humidity plus kitchen steam increases the load. We need strong filters and effective moisture drainage, plus coil cleaning every two weeks during peak periods.
Do the restaurant AC and hood work together efficiently or separately?
Best practice is they work together in close coordination: AC provides cool balanced air, the hood removes steam and grease. We design the system to be integrated so each complements the other.
