restaurant development + design is a user-driven resource for restaurant professionals charged with building new locations and remodeling existing units.
Issue link: http://rddmag.epubxp.com/i/595518
7 6 • r e s t a u r a n t d e v e l o p m e n t + d e s i g n • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5 HVAC AND AIR QUALITY F ood, service and ambiance are the obvious elements that drive restaurant guest satisfaction and return visits, but there's a fourth element that can trump those to make or break the experience. It's the quality of the air inside (and immedi- ately outside) the restaurant. If it's too hot, too cold, too humid, or too full of smoke, odors and grease, guests may balk. Employee productivity and morale will suffer as well. That's all bad enough, but failure to install and maintain proper heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment suited to the size of the restaurant, its confguration, and the level and type of cooking activity taking place throughout the day can also pose signifcant safety hazards. Meeting all of the various codes and regulations in this regard isn't optional, and it's a part of the build-out or renovation pro- cess for which operators should seek professional, specialized design and engineering advice. Overall, the HVAC encompasses a wide range of products and systems that work in concert to help achieve and maintain a safe and comfortable restaurant environment. They range from air conditioners, furnaces and boilers to fans and ductwork to air- cleaning flters and exhaust hoods and systems. New products in the category are increasingly sophisticated. Just one example: demand-con- trolled kitchen ventilation, which uses state-of-the-art, microprocessor-based systems to automatically vary exhaust fan speed based on the cooking load and/or time of day. According to testing done by the Food Service Technology Center, such systems provide only the amount of ventilation needed for what's cooking at the time and can cut fan energy costs in half. 2015 PRODUCT ISSUE Flexible Air Purifcation System Halton's EcoloAir Purifcation System reduces cooking odors and removes at least 95 percent of all grease and smoke particles, according to the manufacturer. The complete system, which includes a Capture Jet hood, EcoloAir Filter Module, Odor Reducing Module, ECOsystem, Fan Module and Control Panel, can be housed in the ceiling space, on the roof or in a designated mechanical room. The modules can also be installed in separate areas. www.halton.com Heat-Recovery Filter System Accurex's new Energy Recovery Filter System incorporates energy recovery technology into kitchen exhaust hoods. The system captures waste heat produced by cooking appliances that would otherwise be exhausted from the hood and uses it to preheat a portion of the incoming water supply, which is directed into the patented energy recovery flters. Preheating water before it enters a conventional water heater saves energy and reduces a restaurant's water heating costs. As an added beneft, the water fowing through the flters naturally lowers the hood temperature, condensing more grease from the airstream. www.accurex.com ESP Extracts Kitchen Exhaust Odors Halton's Ecology-E is an electrostatic pre- cipitator (ESP) used to extract cooking effuents and odors from commercial kitchen exhaust, minimizing a restaurant's impact on the sur- rounding environment. Key features include high-frequency electronics, a safe/ no-short charging system, rugged ionizer electrodes and improved automatic cleaning. High-effciency particle collection is delivered instantly and continu- ously. Extremely low resistance to airfow means less fan horsepower is needed compared with conventional media fltration, and, since resistance to airfow is constant, the system air volume is always maintained. www.halton.com