EL DORADO HILLS, CALIF.—CulinAire Systems, based here, has teamed up with the Melink Corp. of Cincinnati, Ohio, to bring the Intelli Hood demand ventilation system to the West Coast.
Most commercial kitchen hoods operate at 100 percent capacity all day long, even during idle, non-cooking periods, costing the food service industry more than $2 billion annually in wasted energy. Using a microprocessor and sensors, the Intelli Hood solves this problem by reducing fan speeds during idle cooking times, saving both fan energy and conditioned air, saving thousands of dollars per hood in annual energy cost.
These proven controls have become the new industry standard for commercial kitchen ventilation systems. They can be installed in any commercial kitchen, from restaurants to hotels, schools, country clubs and supermarkets. Consultants, engineers and operators have begun to specify them on thousands of hoods, both new and existing.
This technology is easy to use with the only noticeable difference in kitchens equipped with these controls being a blue keypad located on the front of the hood. To activate the system, the chef simply presses the light and fan button on the face of the keypad. The hood lights come on and the fans reach a preset minimum speed of between 10 and 50 percent. When the cooking equipment is turned on and during idle cooking periods, the fan speed increases based on exhaust air temperature. During actual cooking, the fan speed increases to 100 percent until smoke and heat are evacuated.
In addition to saving energy, other benefits include improved fire safety and optimum kitchen comfort. To learn more about this technology, visit www.culinairesystems.com.
