Commercial Kitchen Ventilation Resources

What These Kitchen Ventilation Guides Cover

Our commercial kitchen ventilation resources are short technical guides that answer the questions we hear most often on real projects. Each one focuses on a single topic, uses US units, and points to the codes and standards an inspector will actually reference.

The library currently includes five guides:

• How kitchen ventilation works: the thermal plume, capture and containment, appliance duty classes, air balance and demand-controlled ventilation.
• NFPA 96 requirements: what the standard covers, who enforces it, and how it connects to the mechanical code and UL listings.
• Hood sizing: length, depth, mounting height, exhaust airflow, duct size and make-up air quantity, with a worked example.
• Exhaust cleaning and inspection: inspection frequency by cooking volume, cleaning to bare metal, access panels and documentation.
• Type I vs Type II hoods: which appliances need a grease hood and which only need a heat and vapor hood.

None of these guides replace a stamped design or the judgment of the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). They are meant to help you ask better questions and catch problems before they reach the plan reviewer or the kitchen line.

Using the Resources at Each Project Stage

The guides are most useful when you read them at the stage where their decisions are made. A hood that was undersized at concept is expensive to fix after the ceiling is closed, so the order below follows a typical US foodservice project.

Owners usually start at concept and operation. Engineers and contractors spend most of their time in design, permit and startup. If you are picking up a project halfway through, read the guide for the stage you are in and then the one before it.

Information to Gather Before You Plan a Hood System

The fastest way to a correct hood design is a complete set of inputs. Most delays we see on kitchen ventilation projects come from missing equipment data or an unknown roof or ceiling condition, not from engineering itself.

Cooking equipment

• Equipment schedule with make, model, width, fuel type and input rating for every appliance under the hood.
• Menu notes that affect duty class, such as charbroiling, wok cooking or solid-fuel cooking.
• Expected hours of operation and peak meal periods.

Building conditions

• Floor plan with the cook line location, ceiling height and structure above.
• Path to the roof or exterior wall for the grease duct, including floors it must pass through.
• Roof type, existing curbs and the location of air intakes, property lines and doors near the planned fan.
• Existing HVAC serving the kitchen and dining room, if any.

Code and owner requirements

• Jurisdiction and the code editions it has adopted (ask the building or fire department).
• Landlord or franchise standards for hoods, fans and fire suppression.
• Budget and schedule targets, including any phased opening.

When you have this list, you can request a quote with your drawings and get a response based on real data instead of assumptions.

How the Guides Relate to Our Product and Service Pages

The resources explain principles. The product and service pages explain what we build and install. For example, the hood sizing guide shows how exhaust airflow is estimated, while the Type I grease hood page describes the hood construction, filters and options themselves.

The same pattern applies to the rest of the system. The ventilation guide explains why supply air must balance exhaust, and the make-up air systems page covers the units and diffusers that do it. The cleaning and inspection guide describes what a good exhaust cleaning looks like, and our hood service and maintenance page covers the work we perform on site.

If your question is about a specific facility type, such as a hospital, school or ghost kitchen, the applications section covers the ventilation issues that tend to show up in each one.

Reading Code References in These Guides

The guides name standards so you know where a requirement comes from, but they deliberately avoid quoting section numbers or edition years. Jurisdictions adopt different editions of NFPA 96 and the International Mechanical Code, and some add local amendments, so a section number that is correct in one city can be wrong in the next.

Where we give a number, such as a minimum duct velocity or a typical overhang, it is a commonly referenced value that you should confirm against the edition adopted locally. Listed equipment adds another layer: a hood tested to UL 710 comes with its own airflow and installation requirements, and those listing documents govern how that specific hood is installed.

If a guide and your AHJ disagree, the AHJ wins. Bring the question to the plan reviewer early, and keep their written answer with the project file.