Guidance on the Control of Odour and Noise from ... - Defra

4 Review of common types of
kitchen ventilation systems
4.1 Overview
The principle function of a kitchen canopy is to protect the working environment
around the cooking process from soiled matter and flame, and to ensure that the
working environment is tolerable and safe for people to work in. An air flow should
be created across the cooking process (es) to capture the effluent created (heat,
steam, fat, smoke and odour). Any vapours produced should be collected and
contained by means of filters within the canopy and duct work, thus allowing clean air
to be discharged. Ventilation is required in the kitchen area and adjoining areas
because:
• considerable convective and radiant heat is given off by cooking equipment;
• air becomes laden with odours, grease, fumes and products of combustion;
• during meal preparation and washing up, humidity levels increase over a
wide area;
• air replacement and consistency of temperature are required throughout the
cooking and adjoining areas;
• air is required to dilute and replace products of combustion from gas fired
appliances; and
• supply air is required to ensure complete combustion of fuel.
The four main emissions that require removal from kitchen are:
• smoke;
• expanded air from the hot cooking processes;
• arisings generated by the cooking process, namely steam, grease and
cooking odour; and
• exhaust fumes from direct fuelled appliances such as gas, charcoal and
mesquite.
Kitchen ventilation systems can take many different forms. The design of a system is
dictated by the type of cooking carried out, the scale of cooking carried out and the
location of the kitchen premises. As part of this general review the main elements
that may be found in a ventilation system are shown in Figure 4.1, which presents a
schematic diagram of a kitchen ventilation system. In this chapter the different
options for each of these elements are described.
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