Tags: Commercial Kitchen Ventilation, FSCI, LEED, Kitchen Design, Engineered Grease Duct, Van-Packer

Save Time & Money by specifying and installing Engineered Grease Duct 

Tuesday, August 9th, 2016

Fresh, Clean air is the life blood of every kitchen. It’s easy enough to watch a hood capture smoke and grease from a kitchen, or to go up on the roof and see the exhaust fans pulling that same air out of the kitchen, but what happens in between? Ducts play a vital role in safely getting grease laden exhaust out of the kitchen. Specifying and purchasing engineered, fire-rated, zero-clearance grease duct ensures a safe, code compliant, and easy to install system that offers cost savings and superior performance when compared to field fabricated duct.

Grease duct often bridges the food service and mechanical disciplines. Many food service consultants prefer to provide the duct collar locations and let the project engineer handle the duct routing and specifications. Often these specifications end up including every possible situation from NFPA-96 that a contractor might run into – different clearances for different combustibles, fire-wrapping where applicable, cleanouts for changes in directions… the list goes on. Additionally, engineers often specify welded ducts with fire-wrapping for the entire project. This is easy to understand given the sometimes limited availability of information, unknown site conditions, dimensions, or ever changing project plans. No one wants their work invalidated down the road because decisions were made outside of their control.  

Key Benefits of Using Engineered Factory Fabricated Grease Duct

  • Superior Specifications & Performance – Rigorous testing and listing procedures mean that Engineered Grease Duct requires significantly less slope than their field fabricated counterparts. Round ducts also offer greatly reduced static pressure which can lower fan and motor requirements, reducing capital costs for these components and increasing the overall efficiency of your Commercial Kitchen Ventilation system. The round shape of the duct is structurally superior to rectangular duct, enables better drainage, and eliminates the right angle corners and flat spots where grease can accumulate and pool. 
  • Easier Installation & Maintenance – Installing Engineered Grease Duct is a simple, easy to learn process. Experienced installers achieve installation times that are about half of traditional field fabricated duct. Round Engineered duct is also easier to clean than rectangular duct and generally stays cleaner longer. 
  • Design & Aesthetic Considerations – Architects often attempt to hide or minimize the visual impact of field welded exhaust duct by installing drop ceilings, or painting it a recessive color. But why hide duct when it looks this pretty!? Available in a variety of finishes, Engineered Factory Fabricated Grease Duct looks great in spaces with open ceilings and can compliment any architectural design. 
  • Cost Savings – Estimating costs for field fabricated grease duct can be a difficult and time consuming process. Many times the amount carried is either excessive or insufficient, and isn’t confirmed until just prior to the work being done. Alternatively, we can quickly price, draw, and modify Engineered Grease Duct at any stage in the project. That means you can have confidence in the accuracy of your budgets. Plus, in our experience, anytime a project require fire wrapped duct, we can provide zero clearance Engineered Grease Duct at a significant cost savings. 

If you’re interested in learning more about how Engineered Grease duct can work for you, please visit our webpage: springairsystems.com and feel free to reach out directly with any questions. If you’re currently working on a project we’d be happy to provide drawings, energy savings calculations, and of course a quote!