Solutions · Planning Guide 02
Ventilation & kitchen air.
Hoods, make-up air, filtration, and fire protection are one connected system — and the part of the kitchen that's hardest to change later. Here's the plain-language version.
One system, not five parts.
Ventilation fails projects quietly: a hood specified apart from the cookline, make-up air nobody budgeted, a fan that doesn't match the duct run. Treat it as one system with one owner and it passes inspection the first time.
The hood decides your cookline — and vice versa.
Grease-producing equipment needs a grease-rated hood; heat-and-steam-only equipment needs a lighter one. Which you need is determined by what you cook on, so the cookline and the hood have to be designed together — never sequentially.
Make-up air: the part everyone forgets.
Every cubic foot the exhaust fan removes has to come back from somewhere. Kitchens that feel hot and smoky, or doors that whistle and slam, are usually an exhaust and make-up air imbalance — a design problem, not an equipment problem.
Grease capture protects everything downstream.
The better the filtration at the hood, the less grease reaches the ducts and fans behind it — which means lower fire risk, less frequent professional cleaning, and exhaust equipment that lasts. Filter choice is a small line item with an outsized payback.
No roof access? You still have options.
Historic buildings, malls, and interior spaces can't always duct to the outside. Ventless equipment and recirculating approaches can carry part or all of a menu — we help you sort what your space and your local inspector will support.
Design through startup, one owner.
Hood, ductwork, fans, make-up air, controls, and fire suppression usually arrive from different vendors. Zink's portfolio includes dedicated ventilation specialists who carry the system from site survey and engineering through installation and startup — coordinated with your dealer.
Ventilation & filtration lines in the portfolio
Every line links to its page — coverage, categories, and the Zink team behind it. Or filter the whole portfolio by your state in the Product Portfolio.
Common questions.
Does every commercial kitchen need a hood?
Not always. Grease-producing equipment needs a grease-rated hood, but when a building can't duct to the outside, ventless equipment and recirculating approaches can carry part or all of a menu. Find out what your space supports before the lease is signed.
Why does a kitchen feel hot and smoky even with the exhaust running?
Usually an exhaust and make-up air imbalance: every cubic foot the exhaust fan removes has to come back from somewhere. It's a design problem, not an equipment problem — and it's solvable.
Who coordinates the hood, fans, make-up air, and fire suppression?
Treat ventilation as one system with one owner. Zink's portfolio includes dedicated ventilation specialists who carry the system from site survey and engineering through installation and startup, coordinated with your dealer.
Not sure what your building supports? Ask before you build.
Bring the floor plan. Our ventilation specialists will tell you what the space allows — and what it will fight you on.
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