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Best Residential Kitchen Hoods In Commercial Buildings

Each kitchen application is diverse and requires a unique approach to the type of exhaust hood utilized in the space. Identifying the appropriate hood for your specific space is critical and will vary between traditional commercial kitchens and residential-style kitchens located in commercial buildings.

Commercial kitchens produce heavy amounts of grease, smoke, and odor when cooking and need a particular type of exhaust hood to not only effectively remove the high amounts of effluent and heat from the kitchen space, but also to ensure the safety of the staff preparing the food. Typical commercial for-profit environments are very different from residential-style kitchens in commercial buildings such as those within senior living facilities, cooking classrooms, fire stations, and places of worship. These applications, while not requiring an exhaust hood as robust as a restaurant’s, must still maintain and secure the safety of the staff and occupants.

Kitchen footprint, appliances, building codes, and fire suppression requirements are all factors that must be considered when selecting an appropriate hood. The criteria that allow the use of a non-commercial hood in a commercial building’s kitchen are the type of cooking appliance being utilized and what applications that appliance is being used for. For example, if a commercial-grade appliance is used or the food being prepared is of a commercial scale or being sold, the application will then require a full commercial-style hood system. While this can seem confusing, we’ll help break down the different types of common applications and exhaust hoods seen in kitchens.

Get To Know Kitchen Exhaust Options

Residential-style kitchens in commercial buildings often follow a different set of requirements. Here is a breakdown of kitchen exhaust hood options:

Option one – a traditional residential hood: These hoods found at many home improvement stores are typically for very light-duty exhaust conditions from a residential cooking appliance, mainly satisfying requirements for residential homes. However, this type of hood does not meet most code requirements for commercial buildings and lacks important safety features including fuel disconnects and fire suppression to meet codes.

Option two – a commercial kitchen hood system: Installing a commercial Type I hood system in a residential-style kitchen will meet and potentially exceed all code requirements. Commercial hoods are UL 710 listed with medium, heavy, and extra heavy ratings, NSF Certified and built in accordance with NFPA 96. The stringent requirements of the system are typically not practical or cost-efficient for a residential-style kitchen in a commercial space.

Option three – an exhaust hood designed specifically for residential kitchens in commercial buildings: A Fire Ready Residential Range Hood is the ideal solution for these applications as it meets code requirements for residential-style kitchens and includes a UL 300A, self-contained fire suppression linked activated by temperature sensors in the hood and controls that can deenergize fuel to the appliance to prevent a fire from occurring.

What is a Fire Ready Residential Range Hood?

The Accurex Fire Ready Residential Range Hood is a dual-purpose, integrated system that captures the byproducts of cooking with a self-contained fire suppression system for user safety. This hood is specifically used for locations where food is not being sold. It is engineered to detect fires early and extinguish them should they occur. It offers similar protection as a Type 1 hood with a smaller footprint, lower cost, intuitive touchscreen controls, and a built-in UL 300A fire suppression.

How does it work? If heat from the range increases the temperature in the hood beyond its first threshold, the system will raise the exhaust fan to full speed. If the detected temperature continues to increase and exceeds the next threshold, the hood controls will send a signal down to the supplied disconnect (gas or electric), deenergizing the range to shut off the appliance in and effort to prevent a fire event. Should the hood temperature continue to rise, electronic temperature detection will force the unit into a fire-response protocol, releasing a liquid chemical suppression agent through multiple nozzles to suppress the fire. It will also trigger the building’s fire alarm system to notify those in the building to evacuate.

Understanding Building Codes for Residential Kitchens in Commercial Buildings

Building codes provide the framework for determining which kitchen exhaust hoods sufficiently operate under specific situations. For these particular products, the International Building Code (IBC), International Mechanical Code (IMC), and the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code (NFPA 101) are the primary applicable building codes.

Each agency provides varying building code requirements when it comes to commercial cooking appliances or domestic cooking appliances used for commercial purposes. Senior living and assisted living facilities, certain healthcare centers, and college dormitories have a specific set of requirements that should be followed.

Other residential applications in commercial buildings such as fire stations, churches, and teaching kitchens don’t have quite the same stringent constraints, but they still must comply with the requirements outlined by the IMC and should follow best practices for life safety.

Connect with Us

We understand that kitchen ventilation can be complicated, but we’re here to remove the complexity and simplify the process of selecting the perfect solution for any new or existing commercial space that includes a residential-style kitchen. Connect with your local Accurex kitchen ventilation representative here to get started.

Learn more about our Fire Ready Residential Range Hood system and download our white paper, Proper Ventilation & Protection of a Residential Range in a Commercial Building, to learn more about residential-style and commercial hood systems and applicable codes that apply to both.

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