Make-up air and kitchen ventilation for New Orleans restaurants
A kitchen hood removes a lot of air, and that air has to be replaced. When make-up air falls short, hoods stop capturing smoke, doors fight you, and the dining room gets drafts of hot, humid air.
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Make-up air in a New Orleans restaurant replaces the air the kitchen exhaust hood removes. When the make-up air unit fails or is undersized, the building goes negative: hoods stop capturing smoke, doors are hard to open, and unconditioned humid air is pulled in through every gap. We service make-up air units and balance them against the exhaust.
What negative pressure does to a restaurant
Updated September 2026
Every cubic foot of air the hood exhausts has to come back into the building from somewhere. A make-up air unit brings it in deliberately, near the hood. When that unit is off, broken or too small, the building pulls replacement air through doors, windows and the dining room HVAC instead.
The results are easy to spot: smoke spilling from the hood, doors that slam or will not open, pilot lights that flicker, and an HVAC system that cannot keep the dining room cool or dry.
What affects the cost of make-up air work
Make-up air work is priced after we measure the building.
Repair scope
Belts and filters versus motors and controls.
Tempering section
Heating or cooling components on the unit.
Airflow measurement
Balancing exhaust and supply takes time.
Unit sizing
Undersized units may need replacement.
Roof access
Rooftop units need safe access.
Grease conditions
Heavily greased components take longer.
What a make-up air service includes
- Hood capture and door pressure observed
- Exhaust and supply airflow measured
- Blower, belts and bearings checked
- Filters replaced
- Exhaust interlock tested
- Tempering section tested where fitted
- Findings and recommendations written up
Make-Up Air Unit Service
Make-up air units have blowers, belts, filters, dampers and often a heating or cooling section, all running in a greasy, demanding environment. We replace belts and filters, check blower and motor condition, verify the unit is interlocked with the exhaust fan so both run together, and test any heating or tempering section. A unit that has quietly stopped running is surprisingly common, because nobody notices until the kitchen gets smoky or the dining room starts pulling air. We also check that the unit's intake is not pulling in exhaust from the hood fan nearby.
Negative Pressure Problems
Diagnosing negative pressure means measuring what the exhaust removes and what the make-up air and HVAC supply. We check pressure across the building's doors and compare exhaust and supply airflow. The fix may be repairing the make-up air unit, adjusting its speed, repairing dampers, or recommending a larger unit when the kitchen has grown beyond what the original design handled. We explain the numbers so the decision is clear. In many kitchens a modest adjustment brings the building back into balance without new equipment, and we always check that possibility first.
Tempered Make-Up Air
Untempered make-up air in New Orleans means hot, humid outdoor air dumped into the kitchen for most of the year, which makes the line miserable and adds moisture the dining room HVAC then has to remove. Tempered make-up air, conditioned before it enters, keeps the kitchen workable and reduces the load on the rest of the system. We assess whether tempering makes sense for your kitchen and what it involves. Where tempering is not practical, we look at how the untempered air is delivered, since placement alone can make the line noticeably more comfortable.
Kitchens and rooftops around the metro
Many of the restaurants we service sit along the commercial corridors of Metairie and Kenner, in single-story buildings where the hood, the make-up air unit and the dining room rooftop unit all share one roof. When one of those falls out of balance, the others feel it. We look at the whole roof on these calls, not just the unit that was reported, because the problem is usually the interaction between them.
How a make-up air call runs
- 1
Observe the problem
Hood capture, door pressure and drafts checked.
- 2
Measure airflow
Exhaust and supply compared.
- 3
Inspect the unit
Blower, belts, filters, dampers and interlock.
- 4
Price
Repair or rebalancing quoted.
- 5
Repair and balance
Unit repaired and speed or dampers adjusted.
- 6
Verify
Hood capture and building pressure rechecked.
Signs of a make-up air problem
- Smoke spilling from the kitchen hood
- Front or back doors hard to open or slamming
- Drafts of hot air in the dining room
- Pilot lights flickering or going out
- Kitchen much hotter than it used to be
- Dining room HVAC unable to keep up
- Make-up air unit not running with the hood
Questions about Make-Up Air & Kitchen Ventilation in New Orleans
Usually negative pressure from exhaust without enough make-up air.
The hood cannot capture well when the building is starved for air.
Make-up air heated or cooled before it enters the kitchen.
No. The exhaust removes air; make-up air replaces it.
We service the make-up air and HVAC side; hood grease cleaning is a separate trade.
Yes. It pulls hot, humid air into the dining room.
Yes, with the rest of your rooftop equipment.
Often a single visit, depending on repairs needed.
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