Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Salamah
In Al Salamah, West Jeddah, restaurants and cafés need balanced HVAC that separates hot kitchen air from the dining room. We balance pressure between kitchen and seating, supply make-up air to the hood, and keep cooking smells away from your guests.
- 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.
Ask on WhatsApp
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 Salamah is a residential neighbourhood with a growing number of medium-sized restaurants and cafés in mixed-use buildings or standalone shops. Their kitchens are often tight, opening directly into the dining room, so managing airflow, humidity and odours becomes critical for guest comfort. We balance the kitchen hood with make-up air from outside the building to prevent the dining area being drawn into negative pressure and sending steam and smells to diners.
Al Salamah sits in West Jeddah's sector, a mix of relatively modern residential and commercial buildings.
Most restaurants and cafés here have ceiling-mounted horizontal hoods with tight ductwork, needing precise pressure balancing.
The AC setup in Al Salamah
- 1
Horizontal ceiling hood with make-up air
Most restaurants here run a horizontal ceiling hood with tight ducts, supplied with make-up air from a separate outdoor unit.
- 2
Pressure barrier between kitchen and dining
We install return-air grilles in the dining room balanced against hood exhaust to prevent negative pressure and air being pulled from the street or diners' area.
- 3
Grease protection for cooling coils
Extra filters or protected coils stop grease particles and steam entering the main AC system.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Salamah
- 1
Describe your kitchen and dining layout
Send WhatsApp photos of the kitchen and dining room, showing hood location, ducts, and doors between them.
- 2
Confirm outdoor space for make-up air unit
Check that safe outdoor space exists on the roof or exterior wall for the make-up air unit.
- 3
Coordinate visit timing with management
Schedule before or after service hours, since the team may need to pause the hood briefly during assessment.
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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.
My kitchen is small, next to the dining room, how do you block cooking smells?
We supply the hood with make-up air from outside and balance the pressure so the kitchen pulls out, not from the dining room, keeping odours away from diners.
The hood pulls my shop door open from the street, is that normal?
No, that means pressure imbalance. We add enough make-up air and adjust the ducting to balance inside and outside pressure correctly.
Humidity in my dining room is very high after service, what causes this?
Kitchen steam leaks into the dining room if the hood is undersized or make-up air is insufficient. We increase hood capacity and make-up air, and improve sealing round kitchen openings.
Do your ducts need regular cleaning of grease and steam?
Yes, hood ducts accumulate grease and steam quickly. We recommend regular duct and spiral cleaning and protective filters on coils to shield from grease buildup.
