The purpose of a restaurant vent hood is to keep the air clear and clean within your business, not only for the safety and health of your employees but also to keep the establishment comfortable for your patrons. Commercial vent hoods can increase the safety, the comfort level as well as to keep your kitchen up to code.
What is a restaurant venting hood used for?
These commercial hoods are designed to remove and filter the following from the air in your business:
- Combustion products
- Steam
- Grease
- Smoke
- Fumes
They are also used in conjunction with some type of fire extinguishing device and in the event there is ever a grease fire, it can quickly remove the fumes and smoke while at the same time suppressing the fire. Restaurant hoods are necessary if you want to have quality air circulating in your food service establishment.
Why do you need a professional restaurant hood repair company?
It is always in your best interest to find a good restaurant hood repairman when it comes time to either service, install or finding a commercial vent hood to ensure the following:
- Help you with doing regular maintenance to your commercial hood so that it operates efficiently and at minimal costs.
- Assist you with maintaining your factory warranty by not using untrained technicians that could do faulty repairs and use cheap parts.
- They can help you to find a hood system that meets both federal and state safety and health requirements and also to make sure you select the right size that will fit your commercial kitchen.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of restaurant hood systems?
Before you choose a restaurant hood system, you first need to verify with your local, state and federal code requirements to see what types of hoods are approved or recommended for your particular industry, you also need to do careful analysis and calculation before deciding on a particular brand and type of hood system. Here are some of the common features you can expect to find:
- Memory presets
- Temperature display
- Noise reduction features
- Filter cleaning reminders
- Delayed shut-off
- Heat protection and sensors
- Automatic height adjustment
- Remote controls
- Built-in lighting
Now let us take a look at the 3 most common types of commercial vent hoods
Restaurant vent hoods with a duct system – with a ducted system the air will be vented to the outside of the building. The benefit of the duct system is that it will reduce some of the maintenance as you don’t have to change air filters as often when compared to a ductless system. However, it is a more expensive system to install and run because of the make-up air requirements, the duct installation, space requirements and it will increase your cooling and heating costs. These types of units are best installed over equipment that do not produce smoke or grease such as dishwashers, pasta cookers, kettles, steamers and other appliances that have combustible by-products, steam and heat.
Ductless restaurant vent hood – the way the ductless unit works is it will pass the air through a filter that has a material such as charcoal that will remove any smoke or odors from the air and then it recirculates the air though the kitchen. While this type of unit will recirculate the moisture and heat in the kitchen it is a lot cheaper to install and operate. You will typically find the ductless vent system over any appliance that produces smoke or grease such as pizza ovens, smokers, ranges, ovens, griddles, boilers and fryers.
The different styles of hood systems
The most common type is the canopy hoods, which is normally installed above any cooking equipment that is against a wall. Then there are Island Hoods and proximity hoods or back shelf hoods that are installed a lot closer to the cooking equipment, especially for lighter duty equipment and low ceiling establishments.
Common restaurant hood repair problems
The kitchen has smoke – this could indicate that your filters are clogged or that your hood system is not able to keep up with the increase demands of your kitchen.
There is smoke around the vent hood – This could mean that either the motor needs to be replaced or repaired, because there is a problem with the exhaust fan.
Problems with installation – most problems that are associated with vent hoods are because either you have the wrong size unit or it was not installed properly. There are several issues that could come about if your hood is not ducted properly, if it’s mounted at the wrong height, if it’s too small for your kitchen or if the wrong components were matched up.
We have experience in restaurant hood repair and replacing parts such as:
- Switches
- Knobs
- Bulb replacement
- Grills
- Fans
- Motors
- Charcoal filters
- Grease filters
Here are some energy saving tips for your commercial hood system
Your hood system consumer about 21 percent of the energy in your restaurant, while this unit is operating it actually helps to reduce some of the strain on your other cooking appliances, as well as your HVAC, which will help reduce your heating and cooling energy consumption also.
- Make sure that you buy an Energy Star vent hood, not only will you get energy savings, but you can qualify for a tax credit. UL listed hoods are good because their exhaust rate is lower.
- Consider installing a variable-speed vent so that you can adjust the fan speed to high during your busy times and low during slower periods, this will help you to save up to 50% on your ventilation costs.
- Considering buying side panels, this will promote efficiency as it reduces cross drafts.
- By installing proximity hoods that use less energy, if your kitchen has larger overhangs you will be able to capture more exhaust.
- Make sure your cooking equipment is arranged properly, such as centering them to the hood, moving them closer to the edge of the wall and grouping them together.
Aventura, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Doral, Hialeah, Homestead, Kendall, Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes, Miami Shores, Miami Springs, North Bay Village, Opa Locka, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Sunny Isles Beach, Sweetwater.
ABE Mechanical
990 Biscayne Blvd
Miami, FL 33132
(786) 292-0882