Regulations and Requirements for Commercial Kitchen Hood System

Before moving further with the topic, you must know what a commercial kitchen hood system actually is and how it is that important for your kitchen. So, a kitchen hood is basically a device that is usually installed above your cooking surface or cooking appliance and it helps to ventilate your entire kitchen.

These kitchen hoods are also known as range hoods or exhaust hoods, they help in removing harmful particles from the air and also help in maintaining a protected working environment for everyone present there. They also help in maintaining the air quality of your commercial kitchen and tend to reduce any buildup of smoke, grease, and other related particles, which cleans and easier maintains the environment for the entire staff. These Commercial Kitchen Hood Systems are basically installed above your cooking appliances and a fan is powered by a motor that spins as you cook, which helps in pulling the air and any other harmful particles into this machine. This air is then traveled through ductwork, which is attached to the machine, which then moves it outside the kitchen leaving your entire kitchen free from any harmful gases. Kitchen hoods should be outfitted with a make-up air device to make sure that any air filtered out of the building is replaced.

Types of Kitchen Hoods

There are actually two types of commercial kitchen hoods, and these types are known as Type I and Type II hoods. These hoods are recognized by the types of materials they filter out of the kitchen’s environment. Below are the characteristics of both of these hoods.

• Type I Hoods: Type I hoods are also recognized as grease hoods, these are designed in such a way that they remove heat, smoke, and any other harmful airborne grease that is present inside the kitchen. Type I hoods are often found over appliances such as fryers, broilers, grills, and ovens.
• Type II Hoods: Type II hoods are also called condensate hoods, they help in removing steam, vapor, and other moisture from the air of your kitchen. Some of these hoods even remove odors as well. They are also found on top of coffee machines, commercial dishwashers, and some particular pizza ovens. Furthermore, these types of hoods often lack a grease filter, so they should not be used instead of Type I hoods.

Ducted vs Ventilated Kitchen Hoods

Commercial Kitchen Hood Code Requirements

To operate your kitchen officially, you must abide by all local commercial kitchen hood code requirements. Though most of these rules states and metropolises follow the International Mechanical Code as the basis for their rules, still certain specifications and code requirements can be different and that depends on the city you live in. Before you make any decisions regarding how to determine your exhaust system, it is very important to check with local officials.

Here are the hood requirements for both types of hoods.

Type I Hood Requirements

There are many differences between Type I and Type II hoods, so any of these types is supposed to offer its own unique set of rules and regulations and they cannot be used in place of each other. Since Type I hoods tend to collect flammable materials, they must be constructed, designed, and laid out exclusively in your kitchen area.

Below, we will examine the requirements for Type I hoods:

• Avoid combustibles: You must install your hood at least 18 inches away from combustible material.
• Use only approved materials: Any hood that is there in the kitchen must be made of steel with a minimum thickness of 0.0466 inches of stainless steel with a minimum thickness of 0.0335 inches.
• Always label your hood: Each hood should have a label that must indicate the minimum exhaust flow rate in CFM that is cubic feet per minute or per linear foot.
• Try to construct proper support: You should always make sure that each hood is secured in place by incombustible supports.
• It protects joints, creases, and penetrations: Any sort of external joints, creases, and penetrations should be made by using any continuous external liquid-tight weld or braze to the lowest outermost boundary of the hood.
• Always keep joints coated and sealed: Internal joints are not always needed to be welded or brazed but should always be sealed so that lubricant cannot break out in any situation.

Elevation Required for Type I Hoods

All of your type I hoods should be outfitted with a lubricant filter. Its height above the cooking surface defines how well it operates, and it depends on the type of machine below it.

The height requirements are as follows:

• 1.5 feet above: cooking surfaces without a bare flame
• 2 feet above: cooking surfaces with an exposed flame or burners
• 3.5 feet above: Piece of equipment with exposed charcoal or a charbroiled

Type II Hood Requirements

Ever since Type II hoods tend to remove condensation and every kind of odor from your kitchen’s environment, they do not normally follow the same code requirements as Type I hoods do. However, they tend to fulfill an essential function in your kitchen, and it has to be built accurately. Following are the code requirements for your Type II hood: 

• Construct durable supports: It is very important that your hood support should be able to hold the load of the entire hood system, unsupported ductwork, discharge load, and possible weight of any personnel working on the hood.
• Seal joints on the inside: Joints, seams, and penetrations for Type II hoods should be sealed on the inside of the hood. The interior should always provide a flat and smooth surface that is easily cleanable and does not let the water out.
• Use suitable materials all over: Type II hoods should be built from steel with a minimum thickness of 0.0296 inches, stainless steel with a minimum thickness of 0.0220 inches, and copper sheets that weigh at least 24 oz. per square foot.

Guidance on Meeting Commercial Kitchen Ventilation Regulations

You should always consider correctly installing, maintaining, and using your commercial kitchen ventilation equipment; it will let you keep your space safe for your staff and patrons.  Your kitchen ventilation system should work to remove any sort of odors and heat that is accumulated during the whole cooking process. Cool and clean air should then enter the kitchen so that the area is safe and comfortable for the whole staff eventually. Health and safety is at the core of what the regulations take to achieve. 

Selecting the right canopy hood

There are a lot of different styles that have particular features. It is very important to observe the area of the hood that you have chosen and whether it effectively covers the appliance beneath it or not. It is very important to properly check with your appointed installer to decide on what is really possible and the most suitable for your commercial kitchen, where and at what height the hood will be mounted, and whether the exhaust performance is enough for all of your hood needs.

While selecting a hood for your commercial kitchen, you should always: 

• Make sure that the hood’s head completely covers your cooking appliance. 
• Select the ceiling or wall-mounted exhaust hoods or vent hoods, wherever you can possibly do so.
• Try to install exhaust hoods directly over cooking appliances where it is possible.
• Mount hoods as low as you can while still allowing easy access to the equipment for kitchen staff.

The regulations that may apply to you

All the regulations 1992 clearly states that all your employers are responsible for providing you with efficient and suitable ventilation in all of the enclosed workplaces that include kitchens as well, which obviously need ventilation to create a safe and comfortable working environment. Mechanical extraction through a canopy hood is a must to remove any sort of fumes and vapors and discharge them to a safe location where nobody’s getting affected. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 has extended these requirements as they apply to the gas appliances found in most catering grounds. As well, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that employers are officially obliged to provide a safe working environment and conditions that do not pose a threat to employee health, as is practical. 

Always practice good, regular maintenance

The proper maintenance of your commercial kitchen ventilation obligations falls into three main categories those main categories are;

Daily

• Buildup of all sorts of dirt and grease on the metallic surface of your ventilation system should be examined on a daily basis.
• Cooker hoods and grease filters should be cleansed every day.

Weekly 

• A physical examination of the ventilation system should be done every week.
• The proper cleaning of baffle type self-draining systems together with the collection drawers must be done at least once every week. All of the mesh filters should be cleaned at least twice a week.

As needed

• A professional contractor should be called to carry out periodic deep hygiene.
• Inspection and cleaning of ductwork branches together with proper equipment need to be conducted more often than usual.
• The frequency of its use should determine the period within which cleaning of the equipment has to be done.
• All the hood’s fans should frequently be maintained in line with manufacturer instructions.
• The carbon filters should also be changed after every four to six month or when needed.
• A system that has been installed with an ESP must be cleaned every two to six months.

Keeping your kitchen properly ventilated is a must, even from a legal perspective and also in terms of insurance, and in order to keep your employees safe, happy, and comfortable as they work. You must look for a certified specialist that can make sure that your installations are compatible and provide support when it comes to maintenance and testing.