Types of Commercial Kitchen Hoods

A make up air system provides additional air in your kitchen to replace the air that is being removed by the exhaust hood. Make up air is important in applications where the kitchen doesn't have enough fresh air coming in to replace the air exhausted by the hood, since your hood requires this replacement air to function properly.

Types of Make Up Air for Range Hoods

Below are the three styles of make up air that are used with a range hood:

1. Short cycle make up air: Discharges the air supply into the hood instead of the room to avoid blowing air down onto staff as they cook.
2. PSP (perforated supply plenum) make up air: Discharges the air supply through the front of the hood and directly onto staff. This is the least popular make up air style as it can cause discomfort for the cook staff.
3. BRP (back return plenum) make up air: Discharges the air supply from a channel in the back of the hood and directs it under the cooking equipment and into the room.

There are 6 basic hood styles that are found in commercial kitchens. Which hood style is right for you will depend on which equipment you will be placing under the hood and how you need to mount the hood.

1. Wall-mounted canopy hoods are flush-mounted to the wall and are used for all equipment types that are located against a wall.
2. Single island canopy hoods are ceiling-mounted over an island with a single cooking line and are used for all equipment types.
3. Double island canopy hoods are ceiling-mounted over an island with a back-to-back cooking lines and are used for all equipment types.
4. Backshelf / low level hood can be freestanding or flush-mounted to the wall and are used for counter-height equipment.
5. Eyebrow hoods are direct-mounted to ovens and some dishwashers.
6. Passover hoods are used over counter-height equipment in instances where a plate is passed from the cooking side to the serving side.

Fire suppression systems are frequently required to meet health codes for type 1 hoods, and need to be incorporated into the overall design of your kitchen to fit the specific layout of your cooking line. 

• Serve as a critical safety feature to prevent kitchen fires in addition to proper hood design and regular cleaning and maintenance
• Can be integrated into the design of a hood or retrofitted into an existing hood
• Activated when they detect fire or excessively high heat
• Include spray heads that discharge wet fire suppression chemicals into the vent hood, grease filters, and over the equipment in the cook line to put out the fire and prevent a restart
• Most models can also be manually activated

Place your low-duty equipment at the end of the cook line and position the heavy-duty equipment in the center of the cook line to optimize hood performance. The piece of equipment that is located at the end of the exhaust hood will have the greatest impact on the hood's overall effectiveness. By placing the heavy-duty equipment in the middle of the cook line, you're ensuring your hood is completely covering the equipment, which enhances its ability to trap and remove the cooking plume produced by the heavy-duty appliances.