Air curtains in commercial kitchens

[tlhoo]

Designing a new commercial kitchen with multiple grease hoods.

Got a review comment stating the need for an air curtain (to prevent insects from entering) above the 3' side door. I assume this door would be used for supply loading, so it may be open for somewhat extended periods of time. My question, is an air curtain necessary? I dont' particulary think so, and am somewhat worried that its high velocity air stream could disrupt the capture under the kitchen hood.

I'm leaning toward rejecting the comment, and not providing the insect air curtain.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[Golestan]

Hi, I am interested in the use of air curtains also on a few of my projects.

1- How close is the back (delivery) door to the exhaust hood?

2- I have been told that about 1/2 of the cfm, air from the curtain could come inside the conditioned space, so if this is true you may have to acount for it.

3- How is the air supplied to the curtain? Is it just outside air?

Hope some others with more experience can help on this design.

 

[lilliput1]

Check out Power Air. It should not affect the hood if it is not too close. It is a recirculating system that can have electric heating, hot water heating or steam heating. All loading docks should have one to keep out insects and to reduce infiltration. It can come with a thermostat and it can be controlled to be lika a space heater. Its fan and heat can be thermostat activated without the door being open. Power Air models are very compact and have good air flow nozzles.

 

[STYMIEDPIPER]

An experienced local vendor representative should be able to help with the best selection for your particular application.

 

[NCDesign]

tlhoo you may not like it but I bet it is code. But not a mechanical or building code item. Those buggers usually come courtesy of the health inspector. I would suggest checking the restaurant rules and reg's for your area.
As far as operation, all of the ones that I have seen and used, mount on the inside of the door and just recirculate the air in the space. They operate off of a door trigger switch and only operate when the door is open.
The best advice would be that of Symiedpiper and call your local air curtain rep. I would suggest calling the hood manufacturer as well if you are concerned about disrupting the hoods functionality.

 

[trashcanman]

Have you considered hanging heavy vinyl strips in lieu of the air curtain? No power required.