Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Samer
In Al Samer, east Jeddah, small and mid-sized cafés and restaurants sit in residential buildings with tight spaces. The challenge here is installing an effective AC system in a small dining room without letting kitchen smells reach 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.
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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 Samer's buildings are older and residential in character, and its restaurants and cafés often occupy a tight flat or small shop with a cramped attached kitchen. Ceilings are low and space is limited, so AC is usually a split unit or old windows. A weak or missing kitchen extractor lets smoke and moisture build up in the dining area, and strong cooking smells reach your seated guests. We design a system combining robust kitchen ventilation with steady make-up air so the dining room stays clean and cool.
Al Samer is in east Jeddah, an older residential area where small cafés and restaurants occupy tight ground-floor shops in older buildings.
Most small restaurants here run a split unit or old window AC, and often lack an effective kitchen extractor, so we add robust and balanced air extraction.
The AC setup in Al Samer
- 1
Split AC unit with separate kitchen extractor
Small cafés in Al Samer usually run one or two split units; we add a separate powerful kitchen extractor to pull smoke and grease from the tight space.
- 2
Simple make-up air from a window or outdoor gap
In tight older buildings, we bring make-up air in through a small window or outdoor gap without long ductwork.
- 3
Washable metal filters
We install simple metal filters at the kitchen opening that trap grease and are washed weekly or fortnightly.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Samer
- 1
Locate the outdoor unit on a balcony or roof
Check if a safe balcony or roof space is available for the outdoor unit, as most older buildings have limited options.
- 2
Coordinate with the café owner on working hours
Agree with us on a visit time outside service hours so we do not disturb customers or interrupt business.
- 3
Warn us of obstacles or wiring near the kitchen
Point out any electrical wiring or pipes in the kitchen ceiling so we avoid them when running ductwork.
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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 tiny and cooking smoke spreads to the seating area, how do I fix it?
We fit a compact powerful kitchen extractor suited to tight space, and draw make-up air from outside so smoke is extracted fast without pulling cool air from the dining room.
The gap between kitchen and dining room is completely open, can you separate the moisture and grease?
We fit a light baffle or partition between kitchen and dining room to direct humid air to the extractor, and add metal filters that trap grease before it reaches the room AC.
Our ceilings are low and tight, can you fit strong ventilation without major changes?
Yes, we use slim ceiling extractors and concealed ductwork that fit low ceilings while still delivering the extraction power you need.
The building is old and the wiring is weak, can it handle a powerful extractor?
We inspect the electrical circuit first, and if needed we add a dedicated line for the extractor or choose an efficient motor rated for your available power.
