Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Muhammadiyah
In Al Muhammadiyah, restaurant and café HVAC serves a mixed stock of older and newer buildings around popular markets. We design flexible systems balancing kitchen steam extraction with guest comfort.
- 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.
Split AC installation
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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 Muhammadiyah is a mixed district with small to medium restaurants on ground floors with residential flats above, plus newer commercial buildings; streets are moderately narrow. Some restaurants are in older buildings with low ceilings and tight ducting, others in newer blocks with more space. The ventilation system must handle this diversity, extracting steam from small kitchens that sometimes lack outdoor space, and maintaining pressure balance so cooking smells do not drift to residential flats above.
Al Muhammadiyah is in central-north Jeddah with a mix of older and newer buildings, a zone of popular markets and local restaurants.
Restaurants here range from small shops with simple ventilation to medium establishments with central ductwork, most using split or packaged units rather than complex ducting.
The AC setup in Al Muhammadiyah
- 1
Split or packaged unit for small restaurants with limited space
Small restaurants in Al Muhammadiyah usually cannot accommodate complex ductwork, so we install split or packaged units providing direct cooling without false ceilings.
- 2
Flat-profile extraction hood for low-ceiling kitchens
Restaurants in older buildings with low ceilings need a slim-profile extraction hood that does not take up vertical space, with horizontal exhaust ductwork directed outside.
- 3
Cooling units with flexible outdoor condenser placement
Older buildings with tight spaces need flexible condenser placement options, possibly on a narrow side wall or limited rear area.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Muhammadiyah
- 1
Assess available outdoor space for condenser and exhaust
Inspect facades, rear areas and rooftop options, and identify the best location for the condenser and exhaust opening before quoting.
- 2
Communicate with residents in upper floors
If the restaurant is on a ground floor with residents above, inform them of installation and maintenance plans to avoid later complaints about smells or noise.
- 3
Confirm electrical capacity in the older building
Older buildings may need electrical circuit upgrades; inspect the main panel and available capacity before installation.
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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.
The restaurant is in an old building with a low ceiling, can you work with that?
Yes, we design flexible solutions for low ceilings such as a flat-profile extraction hood and horizontal ductwork runs, choosing cooling units sized for limited space.
Residential flats are above the restaurant, how do you prevent cooking smells spreading?
We extract steam directly above the cooking equipment through a strong hood, and balance pressure between the restaurant and residential areas so odours do not seep through wiring gaps and openings.
The district is hot but our restaurant is small and tight, is one cooling unit enough?
We look at restaurant size and heat load from cooking and guests; usually one unit suffices for small restaurants, but we may recommend a second small unit if the load proves higher than expected.
Can you work in a restaurant with no outdoor roof space for the condenser?
Yes, we can mount the condenser on a side wall or narrow rear area, or sometimes use integrated units, but we need to visit first to determine the best option.
