 the exhaust
ventilation system for a new commercial restaurant, significant
operational savings, energy efficiency, and environmental
improvements can be achieved.
At the outset of a new construction project, the building owner
wants to limit design and installation costs. With budget
constraints, the kitchen designer specifies ventilation hoods based
on past experience that are adequate for capture and containment of
cooking plumes without regard to energy efficiency. The mechanical
engineer, in turn, strives for an effective but low cost HVAC
(heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system. Energy
efficiency and energy costs are often of little concern to the
design team. However, the energy efficiency of commercial kitchens
is, in large part, directly related to the exhaust ventilation
system.
The interaction between HVAC, makeup air, and exhaust systems is
complex and until recently was not well documented. Recent research
has demonstrated that hood type and local introduction of makeup
air have a significant impact on exhaust and makeup air ventilation
rates. These design elements are frequently not developed and
specified by the same professional. Kitchen designers usually
select the hoods while mechanical engineers design the HVAC and
makeup air systems, often exchanging no more information than
estimated exhaust rates. These design professionals may not fully
understand the impact of their commercial kitchen ventilation (CKV)
selections on energy consumption and occupant comfort.
These problems exist in part due to a lack of comprehensive design
information for CKV systems. This design brief provides guidance to
kitchen designers, mechanical engineers, and food service operators
on commercial kitchen exhaust systems, and is intended to augment
comprehensive design information published in the Kitchen
Ventilation Chapter in the ASHRAE Handbook.
This brief focuses on methods of increasing the efficiency and
effectiveness of the exhaust system while reducing the impact on
the total building energy consumption and improving the kitchen
environment. Key discussion areas include:
- The fundamentals of kitchen ventilation systems.
- The basics of hood selection and sizing.
- The influence and types of makeup air.
- Energy considerations for CKV systems.
- A summary of design strategies.
- A comparison of two CKV system designs.
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