Commercial Kitchen Ventilation Design: Why It Goes Wrong (and How to Get It Right)

Commercial kitchen ventilation design is a critical part of any professional kitchen. In the UK, systems are typically designed in line with DW172 guidance, ensuring the safe removal of heat, grease and cooking fumes.

At Cooper8, ventilation is not treated as a standalone system. It is considered as part of the wider commercial kitchen design.

Most ventilation issues don’t start with the canopy itself. They start earlier with decisions around menu, equipment and kitchen layout. When these aren’t aligned, ventilation systems often become oversized, undersized, inefficient or difficult to integrate into the space.

Common ventilation issues we see include:

• Canopies sized without reference to actual cooking demand
• Overspecified systems increasing capital and running costs
• Poor coordination with kitchen layout and structure
• Inadequate make-up air leading to uncomfortable environments
• Retrofitted systems that compromise the building

1. Undersized Ventilation System

One of the biggest mistakes has to be underestimating how much air needs to be moved through the system. An undersized system can’t cope with the cooking load.

Knock-on effects:

• Kitchens overheat quickly, making it uncomfortable for staff and causing fatigue
• Smoke and grease-laden air isn’t properly removed, leaving lingering odours
• Fire risk increases due to grease build-up in ductwork

2. Canopy Overhang

The size and overhang of a canopy must match the equipment beneath it. This ensures it can effectively capture the thermal updraft (or ‘plume’) of hot, greasy air rising from the cooking line. If the canopy is undersized or poorly positioned, it won’t do its job properly.

Knock-on effects:

• Warm, greasy air spills back into the kitchen
• Floors become slippery and hazardous
• Staff work in hot, uncomfortable conditions, leading to fatigue

3. Wrong Filter Type

We still occasionally see mesh filters, even though baffle filters have been the industry standard for some time. Mesh filters do catch grease and offer less resistance to airflow, but they fall short in critical ways.

Knock-on effects:

• They allow more grease to pass through into the ductwork
• They don’t provide a flame barrier, which increases fire risk
• More frequent maintenance and cleaning required.
• Potential compliance issues with insurers and safety inspectors.

4. Poor Odour Control and Noise Abatement Setup

Odour mitigation is often recommended, even if not strictly required, especially to avoid statutory nuisance and planning objections, and once the menu, type of cooking, and the equipment proposed is assessed then it needs to be selected and sized appropriately .

Likewise consideration needs to be given to noise mitigation taking into consideration hours of use, sound power levels, sound pressure levels and selecting appropriate equipment and materials.

Knock-on effects:

• Complaints from neighbours, especially in built-up or sensitive areas.
• Risk of environmental health officers stepping in.
• Increased difficulty in gaining or keeping planning approval.
• Retro fitting solutions that would be more cost effective to address at initial installation.

Ventilation systems should also be coordinated with fire suppression systems (such as Ansul systems), particularly where high-risk cooking equipment is used. These are often integrated within the canopy, so if the canopy design isn’t right, neither is the fire protection.

5. Undersized Fresh Air Supply

Extract is only half the picture. A system that doesn’t bring in enough fresh air will never balance properly.

Knock-on effects:

• Kitchens feel stuffy and staff struggle in uncomfortable conditions.
• Smoke and smells leak into customer areas.
• Increased energy bills as the system works harder than it should.
• The extract system with undersized make up air facility will be searching for make-up air and potentially be pulling this across servery hatches and under doors

6. Overlooking Integration with Safety Systems

Ventilation systems must be integrated with fire safety and environment monitoring systems – particularly in kitchens using gas or solid fuel equipment. Having a gas interlock system that cuts of the gas if the ventilation fans are not working is a given, other design aspects are sometimes overlooked.

Knock-on Effects of Poor Integration:

• Increased risk to staff health and safety
• Breach of fire and environmental regulations
• Potential liability and insurance issues
• Costly retrofitting and operational disruption

How to Get It Right

Avoiding these issues is entirely possible with a proactive approach:

• Early design planning – ventilation should be considered from the outset, alongside planning requirements
• Accurate extract calculations – based on actual cooking processes, not assumptions
• Appropriate canopy design – sized and positioned to suit equipment and cooking style
• Coordinated system design – including fans, filters, ductwork and odour control
• Supplier clarity – clear responsibility for system performance
• Compliance with UK standards – including DW172, EMAQ+ and fire safety guidance
• Integrated safety systems – including gas interlock and CO/CO₂ monitoring where required

When considered early, ventilation becomes part of a system that works unassuming in the background.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DW172?
DW172 is the UK guidance for the design of commercial kitchen ventilation systems, covering extraction rates, grease management and fire safety.

Do all commercial kitchens need extraction?
Yes – any kitchen producing heat, grease or fumes requires appropriate ventilation, whether integrated into equipment or provided as part of a system.

Can ventilation be added to existing buildings?
Yes, although it can be complex, particularly in heritage or constrained sites.

Case Study: Rievaulx Abbey

Ventilation design becomes even more challenging when projects are in heritage or sensitive environments.

At Rievaulx Abbey, one of the key challenges was the close proximity of holiday cottages to the visitor centre. Planning restrictions and concerns raised in the environmental noise impact assessment required thoughtful solutions.

To resolve this, we integrated noise attenuation into the ventilation system, ensuring it operated efficiently while minimising noise disturbances. We also enclosed the cold room’s remote condensing units in acoustic housings to further reduce any noise impact.

This attention to detail allowed us to meet environmental requirements while delivering a kitchen and café space that works for operators and respects its historic surroundings.

Read more here

Final Thoughts

Ventilation might not be the most glamorous part of kitchen design, but it is a cornerstone of good kitchen design.

Get it wrong, and you’re looking at safety risks, unhappy staff, compliance headaches, with costly fixes.

Get it right, you are on your way to having a commercial kitchen that is safe, efficient, and genuinely pleasant to work in.

At Cooper8, we make sure ventilation systems don’t just tick the compliance boxes, but actively support smoother operations and better working environments.

If you’re planning a new catering space, don’t leave ventilation as an afterthought.

 

Written by Giorgia Lardner – connect on LinkedIn