Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Nur
In Al Nur, north Jeddah, modern restaurants and cafés need precise air-pressure balance between kitchen and dining room. Alrabih's team designs an HVAC system that extracts cooking fumes efficiently without sending food odour to diners.
- 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 Nur is a developed residential and commercial district with modern restaurants and cafés in mid-rise buildings with comfortable interior spaces. Restaurants here often have open or semi-open kitchens, so air movement between kitchen and dining room affects guest experience more sharply. Correct pressure balance stops doors slamming hard and keeps clean airflow to diners rather than cooking odour.
Al Nur lies in north Jeddah, a modern district with a mix of residential, commercial and modern restaurant buildings.
Most restaurants in Al Nur have ceiling-mounted or stove-mounted hoods with ducting to the exterior through the façade or roof.
The AC setup in Al Nur
- 1
Hood system with make-up air supply
Restaurants in Al Nur need a design that captures cooking vapours directly and supplies the hood with cooled outside air to balance pressure.
- 2
Pressure balance between kitchen and dining zone
We regulate speed and direction so clean air stays in the dining room and fumes are drawn toward the hood, not the reverse.
- 3
Grease protection for AC coils
In open restaurants we fit advanced grease filters and clean the coils on a high schedule to prevent grease buildup.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Nur
- 1
Confirm hood location and outdoor exhaust point
Tell us where the hood sits above the stove or grills and where the air will exit (roof or external wall) before our visit.
- 2
Clarify kitchen design and open areas
Send a photo or sketch of the kitchen and dining layout, especially showing any open doors or partitions between them.
- 3
Confirm roof and exterior space availability
Make sure the roof or external wall has room for outdoor AC units and the hood exhaust without conflict.
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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.
How do you stop kitchen odours reaching the dining room?
We regulate airflow so the hood extracts cooking fumes at higher pressure than natural air movement in the dining room, and we supply the hood with make-up air from outside.
Our kitchen is open to the dining room, can HVAC handle that?
Yes, in restaurants with open kitchens we fit a horizontal air barrier above the stove and balance pressure between the two zones to achieve guest comfort.
Kitchen steam leaves marks on the ceiling, how do we prevent that?
A well-designed hood draws steam before it reaches the ceiling, and we select ceiling materials that resist moisture and oily spray.
Where do outdoor AC units sit on the restaurant building?
We choose the roof or a rear wall away from the front façade, and ensure the units do not obstruct the hood's exhaust path.
