Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Kawthar
Restaurant and café HVAC in Al Kawthar faces old-building constraints, intense eastern heat and rapid grease and humidity accumulation. Alrabih ensures precise kitchen-to-dining balance and protects coils and condensers from accelerated deterioration.
- 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 Kawthar is a relatively old eastern zone of tight buildings and diverse local commerce, hosting medium-sized restaurants and cafés in mixed residential-commercial structures. Old, narrow buildings and limited shared roofs restrict outdoor unit and hood placement options. Intense eastern heat and moderate humidity increase system load, and grease and dirt accumulation in older areas speed coil and condenser blockage. Rigorous routine maintenance and constant monitoring are essential to prevent sudden breakdowns.
Al Kawthar in east Jeddah is a relatively old zone of tightly mixed residential-commercial buildings with limited space.
Most Al Kawthar restaurants use medium-sized central units squeezed onto tight roofs, with separate hoods that need frequent maintenance.
The AC setup in Al Kawthar
- 1
Medium or split-section central units on tight roofs
Units are distributed across tight roofs without blocking passages or other openings, sometimes split into two or three sections to reduce footprint.
- 2
Powerful hoods on side facades
Hoods are mounted on side facades or corners away from other ventilation openings, since shared roofs are too tight to accommodate them there.
- 3
Carefully routed drain and exhaust lines
Drain and exhaust lines are carefully routed to avoid shared moisture problems or odours, and secured safely along narrow facades.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Kawthar
- 1
Check access and mounting feasibility on tight roof
Before the visit, confirm the team can safely reach the roof, and check the structure's soundness and available space for unit installation or maintenance.
- 2
Locate all existing openings and pipes
Tell us where other ventilation openings and existing pipes are located on roof and facades, so we do not create conflicts with hood or outdoor units.
- 3
Agree on maintenance timing outside service hours
Schedule maintenance during closing or early morning before service starts, to avoid losing cooling during operations.
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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.
Buildings are very tight, how do we fit outdoor units?
We use smaller or split-design units, mounting them on tight roofs or side facades after obtaining building approval, and sometimes use robust steel stands to distribute weight safely.
Does intense eastern heat speed up coil and condenser deterioration?
Yes, high heat increases condenser stress. We select units with high-efficiency condensers, clean them roughly monthly, and shade them from direct sun or add a sun guard where possible.
Grease and dirt build-up clogs coils fast, how do we prevent that?
We recommend mandatory monthly maintenance with deep cleaning of coils, hood and filters, use high-quality filters, and apply anti-bacterial treatment to coils and pans.
Shared roof space is limited, can we relocate units or hood outside?
We may mount the hood on a side facade or corner away from other openings, or run a long horizontal duct from the kitchen to an external discharge point if space allows, after building management approval.
