Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Rawasi
In Al Rawasi, east Jeddah, restaurants and cafés sit in mixed residential buildings with commercial units on the ground floor. We design AC systems that isolate kitchen air from residential floors above and dining areas below.
- 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 Rawasi's buildings mix residential units with ground-floor commercial, so restaurants on the ground or first floor risk spreading smells to other residents. Streets are medium-width and building surroundings are tight. This requires precise make-up air and drainage design to prevent odours rising to upper floors, and outdoor units must sit far from apartment windows. Ground-floor heat and humidity exceed upper floors, adding load to the cooling system.
Al Rawasi is in east Jeddah, a district of mixed residential buildings with shops and restaurants on lower floors.
Most restaurants here occupy lower floors of residential buildings, relying on a strong kitchen hood paired with carefully controlled split units to keep cooking air out of upper apartments.
The AC setup in Al Rawasi
- 1
Separate kitchen hood from main cooling
The hood has its own completely separate system with direct outside discharge, no shared air with the main cooling units for the dining space.
- 2
Pressurised supply air for isolation
A pressurised outside-air inlet pushes clean air toward the hood, maintaining positive pressure in the kitchen to stop smells leaking up and sideways.
- 3
Air seal between floor levels
Tight sealing of all gaps around pipes and wires between ground and upper floors to block vertical air and moisture transfer.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Rawasi
- 1
Notify residents above you of work
Tell residents in upper apartments that we are coming to install or service, there may be temporary smell or noise during work.
- 2
Point out gaps and air leaks
Show us where you feel air or smell coming from upper apartments or neighbouring shops, so we focus sealing at those points.
- 3
Choose a safe outdoor unit location away from windows
Choose a spot far from upper apartments' and neighbouring shops' windows, if possible on a shaded or rear side.
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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.
Kitchen smells rise to the apartments above us, how do you stop them completely?
We design a completely separate kitchen duct with a strong hood and direct outside discharge, plus pressurised make-up air that pushes cooking air toward the hood rather than toward stairwells.
The hood's outdoor unit is near apartment windows, where should we put it instead?
We choose the opposite side of the building or a rear corner, as far as possible from apartment windows, and ensure exhaust disperses quickly away from the building.
Warm air from upstairs apartments leaks into the restaurant through gaps, how do you seal it?
We inspect all gaps around pipes, wires and doorways, and seal them with tight air barriers to break the connection between kitchen level and upper floors.
Kitchen moisture affects the apartments above and shops beside us, how do you reduce it?
We keep AC and hood drains clean and directed away from walls, and we ensure humid air is extracted outside forcefully before condensing on interior surfaces.
