Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Hafnah
In Al Hafnah in east Jeddah, restaurants and cafés grow in rising commercial buildings and developing residential areas. We extract hot, humid kitchen air efficiently and balance pressure to protect guest seating and adjacent spaces from odours and smoke.
- 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 Hafnah is a fast-growing eastern neighbourhood with mid-sized modern commercial buildings and scattered residential areas, restaurants and cafés expanding near apartment blocks and shops. The building density is lower than southern areas but gaps between buildings are tight because of the urban pattern, so hot, humid air from one kitchen spreads easily to adjacent voids and flats. The hood and AC system must be powerful and balanced to extract all hot and humid air precisely and replace it with cool, clean air.
Al Hafnah is in east Jeddah, a fast-growing neighbourhood with modern commercial buildings beside residential areas with tight gaps between them.
Most Al Hafnah restaurants are medium-sized in shared commercial buildings and share vents and utilities with adjacent shops and clinics.
The AC setup in Al Hafnah
- 1
Separate powerful hood with dedicated duct to outside
Dedicated duct from the kitchen exhausts straight outside away from neighbouring vents and gaps, containing hot and humid air.
- 2
Separate cooled make-up air system
Make-up air enters the kitchen at a separate point, reducing negative pressure and stopping cool air being pulled from the dining room toward adjacent vents.
- 3
Outdoor unit safely placed on roof or rear
The AC outdoor unit sits on the roof or rear of the building, away from tight front gaps, ensuring good ventilation and no disturbance.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Hafnah
- 1
Understand the building's shared spaces and utilities
Tell us about the shared vents and utilities in the commercial building and gaps between facades, so we design the separate hood system effectively.
- 2
Confirm outdoor unit location on the roof
Make sure our team can access the roof and there is safe space to mount the outdoor unit away from gaps and tight facades.
- 3
Coordinate with neighbouring businesses before starting
Tell neighbouring shop and clinic owners about the installation and maintenance dates to ensure no disturbance during the work.
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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.
The neighbouring clinic and shop complain about food smells from my restaurant, what is wrong?
Shared vents in the commercial building let odours leak through. We design a separate strong hood with dedicated duct and cool make-up air to the kitchen to stop hot air pressing toward adjacent vents.
Heat and humidity from my kitchen affect the neighbouring shop, is there a fix?
We design a strong hood pulling hot, humid air from the kitchen straight outside, and supply separate cool make-up air to stop positive pressure pushing heat into neighbouring spaces.
The gap between my restaurant and the neighbouring shop is very tight, where does the AC outdoor unit go?
We place the outdoor unit on the roof or in the building's back area, away from the tight front gaps, to ensure good unit ventilation and avoid disturbing neighbours.
My AC runs constantly and does not cool the restaurant, what causes this?
A strong hood without make-up air sucks cold air from the kitchen straight out, so the AC runs constantly. We supply equal make-up air to replace what the hood pulls, cutting the cooling load so the AC works efficiently.
