Ever wonder where the smoke and steam go when a large scale of food is being made in restaurants or hotels? They are removed by a kitchen ventilation system. Vent hoods in a commercial kitchen play a crucial role in eliminating the smoke, steam and grease vapors. To prevent your kitchen from becoming contaminated by grease and contributing to an unhealthy restaurant atmosphere, installing an efficient vent hood is the solution. Vent hoods also work at the suppression of fires by filtering the fumes released from cooking equipment.
There are three main components that make up the complete vent hood package: Exhaust fans, return air fans, and the vent hood itself. Extra items include grease filters and baffle filters.
- Exhaust fans are located on the roof of the building directly above the location of the hood in the kitchen. The basic purpose of the exhaust fan is to remove harmful smoke and grease vapors away from the kitchen by reversing the draw of air. Exhaust fans will need to be properly cleaned periodically because of the constant removal of grease and other pollutants. Ducts are placed from the top of the vent hood to the ceiling and out through the exhaust fans to carry out the harmful air of the kitchen.
- Return air fans or make-up air fans work by bringing fresh air from the outside back into the building. Because of the loss of air being sucked away with the exhaust fans, return air fans provide a balance of air by bringing back fresh air to compensate for the loss. This air balance helps your indoor air condition not work harder at maintaining fresh air, thus lowering energy bills. They also are installed on a special electrical unit that shuts off the air flow in case of a fire.
- Vent hoods help keep you, your employees, and customers safe by eliminating smoke and grease vapors that are released when cooking on hot equipment. Vent hoods can be made from galvanized aluminum or stainless steel. They can also be customized to display logos or other additions to accompany your business. The proper size of a vent hood is critical. Make sure that your hood is properly placed above and to give yourself a minimum of 6 inch clearance on all sides of the cooking equipment.
Grease filters need to be replaced often to prevent grease and other residue to accumulate over time. If they are not replaced properly, risks of kitchen fires and/or violation of compliance with health codes may occur.