Why is air conditioning crucial in a catering establishment?
It’s hard to imagine a good restaurant these days without ensuring good conditions inside – first and foremost the temperature in the room, to a lesser extent the humidity (an ordinary air conditioner has limited ability to regulate humidity levels). Without maintaining the right temperature in the room, it is difficult to get a good reputation from customers, so a good air-conditioning system for catering is one of the conditions for the development of a business. It is also important to remember to provide good conditions for the kitchen staff – it is up to them to ensure that the customer returns to the restaurant. Air-conditioning in the kitchen is absolutely essential; cooks and staff working in optimal conditions are less tired and therefore more efficient in their work.
What temperature should be in the catering premises?
When talking about the temperature in a catering establishment, it is important to understand that there are two zones – the customer room and the kitchen. At the same time it should be remembered that the safe temperature difference between the street and the room is within 7 degrees, with too low temperatures in the room the human body reacts with cold.
Air conditioning in a café or fast food outlet is supposed to provide a small temperature difference between the street and the room, about 5 degrees is enough. The reason for this is that there is a lot of traffic – that is, a lot of people going in and out, with most staying in the establishment for an average of about 20 minutes. In this case, it is unnecessary to maintain, for example, 22 degrees in the room when the outside temperature is 30 degrees. The customer will not have time to get used to these conditions and will be unnecessarily exposed to the cold. It is enough to set the air conditioning at 25 degrees – the difference will be perceptible to the customer and at the same time he or she will feel comfortable and safe.
On the other hand, air conditioning in a restaurant, where customers come for a few hours, should ensure a lower temperature. It is advisable to keep the temperature at 22-24 degrees, in which case the customer will not feel uncomfortable while staying for a longer period of time.
The temperature in the kitchen or food preparation areas should be similar to that in the hall – waiters are at risk of catching cold if the temperature varies widely.
What type of air conditioning is used in catering?
Different types of air conditioners can be used in the catering hall – wall-mounted, ceiling-mounted, cassette or ducted. But each type of unit and each restaurant has its own specificities – the selection and location of units is better left to air conditioning professionals. For example, it is better to avoid wall and ceiling-mounted units – they produce a strong stream of air during operation, which causes discomfort for restaurant customers. Such air-conditioning units require high ceilings and larger spaces in the hall so that the cold air does not fall on the customers. A more comfortable solution is to use cassette units – they blow the cooled air to all four sides, while the power of the stream is not too high, so customers do not feel the cold air. The most comfortable (admittedly, also the most expensive) solution is ducted air-conditioning, from which air can be distributed to the most secure zones via ducts and dispersed by means of anemostats of special design. A well-constructed duct air-conditioning system will not be noticed by the customer, who will stay in the cooled room the whole time.
If we are talking about air-conditioning in the catering kitchen, other details have to be taken into account here. For cooks who are in a hot room, cold air is particularly unsafe. But there is another thing to reckon with when choosing air conditioning in a catering kitchen – grease. It is always hanging in the air in the kitchen and there is enough of it to be able to “jam” the filters and the exchanger of the air conditioning indoor unit in a few months’ time. Wall-mounted, ceiling-mounted and cassette-type air-conditioning units are less suitable for installation in the kitchen than ducted air-conditioning, by virtue of the fact that they draw contaminated air from the same room in which they are located. Ducted air conditioning, on the other hand, is designed in such a way that air can be drawn from other rooms, such as back rooms, via added ducts. The air in the farther rooms is definitely cleaner, so the air conditioning will be more effective and will require less frequent servicing and repairs.
By far the best type of air conditioning in catering is ducted air conditioning.
Air conditioning service in catering
When talking about air conditioning in gastronomy, one cannot fail to mention air conditioning service. An air conditioner in a restaurant, café or bakery operates under much harsher conditions than an air conditioner in an office, at home or in a shop; it has to process a lot of dusty and grease-saturated air. Air-conditioning in catering facilities requires a higher frequency of maintenance in order to keep the unit clean in the first place, without getting the filters and exchanger fins stuck. Air conditioning service in catering should be carried out at least twice a year. Failure to meet these deadlines and calling for a service when the air conditioning is no longer working will lead to rapid fouling of the unit and costly related repairs. The cost of regular service is PLN 250.00 – 300.00 net, the cost of replacing a stuck exchanger (cleaning it does not always help) is at least PLN 1,000.00 for a low-power wall air conditioner. Is it worth the risk? In our opinion, no – the service should be regular and the costs of this service should be a constant component of the company’s budget.
How much does air conditioning for catering cost?
The cost of air conditioning for catering depends on many factors – the size of the room, the number of people, the type of air conditioning, installation options and much more. The price can be inexpensive, a few thousand, for a small café or pavilion with a small restaurant. It can reach several hundred thousand in the case of a restaurant with an extensive kitchen and a large area of customer rooms.
I-Klimat Sp. z o.o technicians will be happy to make a selection of the air-conditioning system and the technicians will expertly perform the installation of all devices, components and subassemblies – they have sufficient knowledge, experience and all the necessary tools.
A free quote can be requested in three ways:
- by filling in the contact form on the website;
- by sending an enquiry by email biuro@iklimat.pl
- by calling the office +48 691 222 252