Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Owaija
In Al Owaija, north-east Jeddah, restaurants and cafés face a recurring challenge: the powerful kitchen hood pulls air from the dining room and pushes cooking smells and heat toward guests. Alrabih's team balances pressure with outdoor air supply and cleans the coils of grease.
- 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 Owaija is an expanding residential and commercial district with popular cafés, small hotels and ground-floor shops. The neighbourhood's buildings are more spread out than older districts, but the restaurants and cafés are often small to mid-size with tight kitchens and seating areas close by. That makes airflow and humidity control harder, especially in summer when thermal load is high and the hood runs at full power.
Al Owaija is in north-east Jeddah, an expanding residential and commercial area with popular cafés and small hotels.
Most small cafés here rely on one or two split units with a basic kitchen hood, and the outdoor unit sits on an exterior wall or roof.
The AC setup in Al Owaija
- 1
Single or dual split with basic hood
Small cafés in Al Owaija usually have one or two units to cool the seating and a basic hood for the kitchen.
- 2
Simple outdoor air supply to the kitchen
Many small cafés lack a separate air supply, so we add one to balance pressure and prevent odours from spreading.
- 3
Ceiling units in some larger restaurants
Larger restaurants in Al Owaija may use cassette or ceiling units to distribute air more evenly across a wider dining space.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Owaija
- 1
Mark the kitchen and dining boundaries clearly
Before the visit, tell us exactly where the kitchen ends and guest seating begins so we can balance airflow between them.
- 2
Coordinate the visit time with the café management
If the café operates throughout the day or has specific hours, let us know the best time for the visit without disturbing guests.
- 3
Ensure the team can reach the outdoor unit and hood
The outdoor unit and hood may be on an exterior wall or roof, check that the team can reach them safely and easily.
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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 café is small and kitchen heat fills the seating area, how do I cool it?
We add direct cold air supply to the seating area and regulate the kitchen hood to extract efficiently without creating negative pressure that pushes heat forward.
The kitchen hood is too loud and bothers guests, is there a fix?
The hood speed may be too high or the ducts too narrow. We coordinate hood size with air supply, clear blockages, and may increase duct diameter to reduce noise.
Humidity in the café is high and the AC drips constantly, is that normal?
No, that means cold air supply is insufficient or kitchen humidity is entering the seating area. We clean the AC coils and add dry outdoor air supply to control humidity.
The hood ducts run above the guest seating area, does that affect comfort?
Hot hood ducts may radiate heat above guests. We ensure the ducts are properly insulated or reroute them away from seating if possible.
