Restaurant air conditioning has specific requirements that separate it from standard domestic or office installations — food safety compliance, out-of-hours working, high-capacity requirements for busy service periods, and the challenge of kitchen environments. Here is a guide for restaurant owners and operators in Surrey, Sussex and South London.
Dining Area Cooling
The dining area is the customer-facing space where temperature directly affects the dining experience and, ultimately, whether tables are filled or empty on hot days. We install regularly in restaurants that have found summer trade dropping off as customers avoid a warm interior — and in all cases, the installation has reversed this trend.
Sizing for a restaurant dining area requires accounting for both the heat generated by diners (approximately 100W per person) and the solar gain through any glazing. A busy restaurant at full capacity with south-facing windows generates significantly more heat than an empty room. We calculate peak heat load at full capacity, not average occupancy.
System type depends on the space. For a single open-plan dining room, wall-mounted units are the simplest and most cost-effective solution. For larger restaurants or those where wall-mounted units would be visually intrusive, cassette units recessed into the ceiling are the preferred approach — they distribute air evenly and are relatively discreet.
Kitchen Cooling
Commercial kitchen environments generate extreme heat — commercial hobs, ovens, fryers and dishwashers operating simultaneously can push a kitchen above 40°C in summer. Standard comfort cooling units are not suitable for professional kitchen environments — the combination of grease-laden air, steam and high temperatures is damaging to standard units and creates fire risk.
For kitchen areas, we specify commercial units with grease filters and coil protection, positioned away from the main cooking area, combined with adequate mechanical ventilation and extraction. Kitchen cooling is primarily about staff welfare and working conditions — heat stress in professional kitchen environments is a genuine health and safety issue.
Food Safety Compliance
All air conditioning units installed in food preparation or storage areas must use materials and refrigerants appropriate for food contact environments. The units we specify for food service environments comply with relevant food safety standards. We can provide material safety data sheets on request for any client subject to food safety inspections.
Out-of-Hours Installation
We work around restaurant service times as standard. Most restaurant installations are carried out overnight — arriving after evening service ends (typically 11pm) and completing before the kitchen opens for lunch (typically 10-11am). This avoids any disruption to the restaurant’s trading and means staff return in the morning to a working system.
We have carried out installations in active restaurant environments many times and understand the requirements — working cleanly, leaving no debris that could contaminate food preparation areas, and completing within the agreed timeframe.
Typical Restaurant Installation Costs
Small restaurant (1 dining unit): £2,000-3,500
Medium restaurant (2-3 units, dining and bar): £4,000-7,000
Larger restaurant (VRF, multiple zones): £8,000-20,000
Call 07833 053749 or contact us for a restaurant consultation. We cover East Grinstead, Surrey, Sussex and South London.