Commercial Exhaust Hoods

It’s never too early to start thinking about your commercial exhaust requirements!

Whether you’re opening a new restaurant or moving to a new location that doesn’t currently have a commercial exhaust hood, or renovating your current space and changing up your hot line cooking equipment, or even just looking to add a couple different pieces of equipment to your existing line-up: you need to take your exhaust into consideration. 

Hoods are large structural components, and there are many factors that influence where they can or cannot be placed within a building or room itself. The amount of equipment you need, and the firepower of that equipment also impacts the size and requirements of your hood. Not only that, but there are considerations on where and how to run the duct work for the exhaust air and make-up air. The earlier you start on specifying your hood the better equipped you are to find the best solution.

It’s different for everyone! Hood size entirely depends on how much equipment you have in your hot line that requires hood coverage, plus at least 6” of overhang over the ends of your line and at least 4” of overhang over the front of the equipment for air capture. 

One quick way to estimate is to add up all of the widths of the equipment that needs to be under the cooking line, and add 1’-0” to the width and 4” to the depth. 

Or! 

You can connect with us, and we can assist with your kitchen layout and accurately assess the hood size to help you establish your budget and requirements!

Good question! And unfortunately also a difficult one to answer with limited information. 

There are a few factors that influence pricing on commercial exhaust hoods: 

• Hood size
• Hood placement (wall or island)
• Type of equipment and energy (electric/gas/solid fuel)
• Duct run length (can you exhaust direct out, do you need to run it up to the roof?)
• Fan size and speed
• Make-up air requirements
• Fire suppression requirements
• Control requirements
• Building efficiency requirements

Reach out to us at RYCO anytime to chat. We’re happy to help you navigate these questions and work with you and your building team to find the right solution, and provide you with a quote for the right hood specifications.

The short answer is: Yes, if you are cooking anything that produces grease-laden vapours then you need a commercial grease exhaust hood (Type I) over that equipment. 

The long answer is: Yes, in the National Building Code of Canada (2020), section 6.3.1.6. Notes that for Commercial Cooking Equipment “...systems for the ventilation of commercial cooking equipment shall be designed, constructed and installed to conform to NFPA 96, “Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations”. 

So whether or not it's a combi oven, a standard range, a convection oven, counter-top fryer, etc. etc. so long as you are cooking something that produces grease-laden vapour it is required to be under a commercial exhaust hood.

Grease-laden vapours are produced when heat and steam arise from a cooking surface that contains grease and especially those that create smoke. Anything containing lipids: oils, butter, lard, grease will produce grease-laden vapour. Also think of things like proteins, the natural fats and oils from chicken, beef, and other animal tissue produces grease-laden vapour that needs to be extracted safely from the environment. 

So long as you’re using equipment in a commercial space for cooking, that equipment needs to be under a Type I commercial grease exhaust hood. 

In the National Building Code of Canada, Section A-9.10.1.4.(1) states: “...the deciding factor as to whether or not NFPA 96 applies is the potential for production of grease-laden vapours and smoke, rather than the type of equipment used.” 

Section A-9.10.1.4.(1): “While NFPA 96 does not apply to domestic equipment for normal residential family use, it should apply to domestic equipment used in commercial, industrial, institutional and similar cooking applications where the potential for the production of smoke and grease-laden vapours exceeds that for nominal residential family use.”

The only code compliant alternative for grease-laden producing cooking surfaces is to use certified Ventless Equipment. 

Ventless equipment employs recirculating hood technology designed to capture and filter air, sort of a built-in hood situation. Proper ventless equipment must certified and approved for use in commercial cooking environments, so look for certifications like: UL listed, ANSI compliance, NSF, and NFPA 96. 

We always recommend confirming your equipment with your local authorities: fire marshal, health inspectors, and any building authorities for local code requirements.