Design Guide Improving Commercial Kitchen Ventilation System Performance.pdf
Taken from Introduction: An effective commercial kitchen ventilation (CKV) system requires balance air balance that is. And as the designer, installer or operator of the kitchen ventilation system, you may be the first person called upon to perform your own “balancing act” when the exhaust hood doesn’t work. Unlike a cooking appliance, which can be isolated for troubleshooting, the exhaust hood is only one component of the kitchen ventilation system. To further complicate things, the CKV system is a subsystem of the overall building heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. Fortunately, there is no “magic” to the relationship between an exhaust hood and its requirement for replacement or makeup air (MUA). The physics are simple: air that exits the building (through exhaust hoods and fans) must be replaced with outside air that enters the building (intentionally or otherwise). The essence of air balance: “air in” = “air out!”

