Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Surur
In Al Surur, south Jeddah, restaurants and cafes occupy upgraded residential buildings and modern towers needing careful balance between AC and extraction. Alrabih's system isolates cooking odours while keeping both guests and neighbouring residents breathing clean air.
- 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 Surur is an evolving neighbourhood blending upgraded residential buildings, modern towers and office blocks with shops, small hotels and shops woven into residential units. Restaurants and cafes sit very close to occupied apartments, so any odour, smoke or even noise can disturb residents. Tower density also complicates routing hoods away from windows. The design needs precise air isolation and elevated, sealed outdoor discharge.
Al Surur sits in south Jeddah, an evolving residential neighbourhood with modern towers and mixed-use buildings.
Restaurants here occupy ground or low floors in residential buildings, with kitchen hoods that must be powerful and aimed upward to avoid affecting residents.
The AC setup in Al Surur
- 1
Independent split with sealed kitchen hood
Each shop/restaurant has its own unit and a completely separate hood vented high up the façade, away from flat windows.
- 2
Sound barrier and advanced protective filters
We install vibration mounts and sound filters on the hood, and protective filters on the AC coils to reduce noise and maintain cleanliness.
- 3
Wind baffles and check valves against back-draft
We fit wind baffles and check valves to ensure the hood exhaust remains steady even in back-winds.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Surur
- 1
Identify neighbouring and upstairs flats and occupants
We ask about adjoining and upstairs flats and try to contact occupants to ensure the design will not cause disturbance.
- 2
Evaluate ducting routes and façade outlets
We visit and determine the best ducting route through the building and the best hood outlet location on the façade.
- 3
Confirm electrical capacity and power plan
Confirm separate circuits are available for hood and AC; if power is tight, discuss alternative solutions with us.
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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 flats above us are residential, does our hood disturb them?
If the hood is powerful and vented high up the façade, it should not affect them. We install vibration dampers and sound baffles to reduce noise.
The hood discharge is close to a flat's window above, what can we do?
We assess the location and may need to reroute the ducting or raise the hood outlet higher. We work with the residents to find the best solution.
The towers here are dense, do winds affect the kitchen hood discharge?
Yes, strong winds can sometimes reverse the flow. We install check valves and wind baffles to ensure steady discharge regardless of wind direction.
Modern towers have limited electrical supply, can we run a powerful hood and AC together?
We ask about your electrical distribution capacity and may recommend a backup generator if needed, or design a system proportioned to your available power.
