Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Shiraa
In Al Shiraa, north Jeddah, restaurants and cafés need precise pressure balance between kitchen and dining area, otherwise cooking odours and steam drift to the guests. Alrabih designs HVAC with balanced air extraction and fresh air supply to the hood so customers sit in cool, odour-free air.
- 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 Shiraa has diverse restaurants and cafés in various sizes, many with semi-open kitchens onto the dining floor. This layout means the kitchen extraction must be carefully calibrated: too strong and it pulls air from the seating area and slams doors; too weak and cooking smells spread. HVAC design here focuses on pressure balance and recirculating cool air to the guest zone.
Al Shiraa sits in north Jeddah, a modern district with restaurants, cafés and shops designed with open, contemporary layouts.
Most restaurants and cafés here need multiple split units in the dining area plus a separate kitchen hood with balanced fresh air make-up.
The AC setup in Al Shiraa
- 1
Multiple splits in the dining area
Larger restaurants here need several split units distributed across different seating zones for even cooling and energy efficiency.
- 2
Separate kitchen hood with fresh air make-up
The kitchen extraction runs independently of the dining AC, with fresh cooled air added near the hood to balance the system.
- 3
High-efficiency filters and regular cleaning
Coils and filters need inspection and cleaning monthly in active restaurants to prevent grease and steam build-up on the surface.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Shiraa
- 1
Schedule during closed hours or before opening
Agree with us on a visit time before service hours so we can inspect the kitchen and dining areas without disrupting operations.
- 2
Confirm kitchen and hood access
Ensure our team can safely access the kitchen, hood and outdoor unit areas before the visit day.
- 3
Prepare layout and heat load details
Tell us about typical guest numbers at peak times, kitchen size and equipment, so we can design a balanced system matched to the real heat load.
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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.
Our open kitchen sends cooking smells to the guests, can you fix that?
Yes, we design a kitchen extraction system with balanced fresh air supply so the kitchen is slightly depressurized and cooking odours do not drift to the guests.
When the kitchen hood runs, the doors slam hard, how do we fix this?
That happens when extraction is too strong without balanced make-up air. We add fresh air inlets near the hood or in the kitchen, which balances the pressure and stops the seating area air being pulled in.
Our kitchen gets very hot from the hood operation, does the AC cool it down?
AC helps, but the primary solution is supplying cool air directly to the kitchen at the hood, and isolating the hot external air inlet from the rest of the system.
Our AC coils get dirty fast from grease and steam, how do we protect them?
We fit high-efficiency air filters before the coil intake, design the moisture drainage system to prevent grease build-up, and inspect the coils monthly.
