Restaurant and Cafe Air Conditioning in Surrey

Why hospitality venues need a different approach

Restaurants and cafés generate more heat per square metre than a typical office or shop, largely because of kitchen equipment, dense seating and, on a busy service, a full room of customers. Air conditioning for these spaces needs to account for that rather than being sized on floor area alone.

We also see restaurants and cafés with existing kitchen extract systems, which pull air out of the building and can pull in warm or cold air from outside to replace it. Air conditioning has to be planned alongside that extract, not in isolation from it.

Kitchen heat and the front of house divide

Kitchens are usually served by their own extract and ventilation systems rather than comfort cooling, since the priority there is removing cooking heat, steam and odours quickly. Front of house areas are where air conditioning for customer comfort typically makes the biggest difference, particularly in venues with an open pass or serving counter that lets kitchen heat spill into the dining area.

We look at where that heat spill happens and how far it reaches into the seating area, since a unit positioned to counter heat near the pass may need to work differently to one serving tables at the far end of the room.

Seating layout and airflow

Comfort in a dining room isn't just about average temperature, it's about avoiding cold draughts on tables near the unit and warm pockets in corners further away. We think about airflow direction and unit placement relative to the seating plan, particularly in rooms with awkward shapes, mezzanines or booth seating that can block air movement.

Airflow considerations in dining areas

• Distance from the unit to the nearest tables
• Seating near an open kitchen pass or serving counter
• Booths, partitions or mezzanine levels that restrict air movement
• Door openings from the street affecting temperature near the entrance

Working alongside extract ventilation

Commercial kitchen extract systems are often required for food hygiene and fire safety reasons, and they operate independently of comfort air conditioning. Where a kitchen extract is drawing a significant volume of air out of the building, make-up air needs to come from somewhere, and this can affect how well an air conditioning system maintains temperature in adjoining areas.

We take existing extract systems into account during the survey so the air conditioning specification reflects how the whole building actually behaves, not just the dining room in isolation.

Hygiene and cleanability

Food premises have higher expectations around cleanliness, and this extends to air conditioning units themselves. Indoor units in dining areas should be easy to keep clean and positioned away from food preparation surfaces, and filters need regular attention given the additional airborne grease and particulates found in hospitality environments compared with a typical office.

Outdoor unit position for hospitality premises

Restaurants and cafés in Surrey's town centres and villages often have limited rear access, similar to retail units, so outdoor unit position needs early planning. Noise is also worth considering carefully for venues with outdoor seating areas, so the unit doesn't compete with the atmosphere you're trying to create for customers dining outside.

Maintenance for busy hospitality environments

Restaurants and cafés typically run air conditioning for long hours across most days of the week, and the environment includes more airborne grease and moisture than a standard office. Regular servicing, including filter cleaning, is particularly important here to keep the system working efficiently and to avoid unnecessary breakdowns during service.