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Make Up Air units, or MUA, commonly referred to, play a vital role in your kitchen. In its essence, the MUA unit is designed to supply makeup air to an installation exhausted from kitchens, bathrooms, or dryers. The ventilation and MUA systems must work together to maintain the building pressure. In buildings with too much MUA, high positive pressure problematic by loosing the inside conditioned air; in buildings with too little MUA, negative pressure causes the doors to open badly. Therefore, the MUA should ensure that all the air exhausted by fans is replaced, which keeps cooking smells and other smells away from the dining area.
Air Balancing
A component of MUA systems that is often overlooked is air balancing. Kitchen staff often make changes to settings or diffusers that harm the overall system over the years. Regularly check and rebalance the system to ensure each kitchen hood receives the appropriate air. The amount of air is expressed in cubic feet per minute (CFM). The total CFM of the MUA system is recorded and compared to the nameplate rating. The balancing and adjusting of every hood / kitchen grill are carried out and recorded to ensure the proper airflow is delivered.
Kitchen Temperatures
Most MUA systems temper the air in the winter so that the kitchen is not filled with icy cold air. There are also MUA systems designed to provide cooling during the summer. The kitchen’s temperature is not the same as the temperature as the dining area. It is very important to have a properly operating MUA with adequate amount of air flow to create a comfortable environment for the kitchen staff.
Regular Preventative Maintenance
It is very important to maintain your system regularly. In many cases, the MUA filters need to be changed every month; if you only conduct bi-monthly inspections, then every two months should be sufficient. It’s important to inspect the MUA belts, motor, and other components. It has been seen that inlet dampers on many MUA units get neglected and should be lubricated twice a year. Gas-fired appliances should undergo a thorough inspection at least once a year, particularly their burners, motors, and heat exchangers. The ideal time for performing this inspection is in the summer.
Regular Preventative Maintenance
Variable frequency drives (VFDs) are a term you might have heard a lot over the last decade. These are devices installed on pieces of equipment to slow the operation of a motor or pump. Concerning MUA units, a VFD drive can pay for itself in just a few years. The function of the VFD on an MUA unit is to slow down the motor and deliver less air. The VFD is usually set up to provide a certain percentage of the full CFM necessary for the kitchen and to match with what is exhausted by the fan. It is possible to require less makeup air at certain times. As the staff prepare for cooking in the morning and night when they stop cooking. This can all be achieved using our interlocking control panel, which also has demand ventilation capabilities.
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Our professionals have years of experience in bringing comfort to our clients home, office and work place by performing Testing Adjusting & Balancing, while saving energy.
