Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Sahl
In Al Sahl, south Jeddah, restaurant and café HVAC depends on strong pressure balancing between the kitchen extract and fresh-air supplies to shield customers from hot cooking vapours. Alrabih designs advanced ventilation systems that isolate odours and keep the restaurant cool in this hot climate.
- 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 Sahl is a relatively developed district with restaurants and cafés spread along a main commercial street, with relatively modern buildings and larger floor spaces than nearby districts. Direct sun exposure on façades and extreme summer heat significantly increase the cooling load, and hot kitchen vapours add pressure to the cooling system already working hard. Restaurants here need very high-capacity cooling and a powerful extract hood to pull vapours before they spread through the dining room and compromise customer thermal comfort.
Al Sahl is in the south, an active commercial district on a main street with direct sun exposure and intense summer heat.
Most restaurants here need very high-capacity AC units because of heavy solar and heat load, with powerful extract hoods to isolate vapours.
The AC setup in Al Sahl
- 1
Very powerful extract with separate balanced supply
A high-power hood pulls vapours at high speed, paired with a separate supply that feeds cool fresh air to the dining room to balance pressure and improve comfort.
- 2
Very high-capacity central cooling with comprehensive protection
A very high-capacity central cooling unit to handle solar heat load and cooking grease, with multi-stage filters and intensively protected coils.
- 3
Insulation and shading for the outdoor unit
The outdoor unit sits in shade or is covered with thermal shielding to reduce direct sun impact on performance in extreme heat.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Sahl
- 1
Send photo of the façade and sun direction
A clear photo showing which sides of the restaurant get direct sun and at what times, as this affects AC unit selection and insulation.
- 2
Identify number and size of windows and doors
Large windows and multiple doors leak cool air and greatly increase cooling load, so tell us the count and size.
- 3
Confirm outdoor unit location and available shade
The outdoor unit must sit in shade or away from direct sun when possible, so check roof, side walls and available shaded areas.
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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 sun hits the façade all day; is the AC adequate?
We cannot confirm without careful calculation; we take the façade direction, windows, restaurant and kitchen size and guest count, then choose a unit roughly 30 to 40 per cent higher than standard.
Heat from sun and kitchen combined; how do we manage cooling and ventilation together?
We design an advanced system where the extract hood, fresh-air supply and cooling work in precise balance, so the hood does not pull cool air from the dining room and waste energy.
Extreme summer temperatures stress the compressor; can it handle it?
We choose a compressor rated for high heat conditions, place the outdoor unit in shade or away from direct sun if possible, and recommend annual checks of the oil and compressor.
Hot vapours near the electrical panel; does this affect performance?
Hot cooking vapours near the electrical panel may increase temperature there, so we reroute the hood outlet away from the panel and ensure adequate ventilation around power circuits.
