The US Environmental Protection Agency has recognized Melink’s Intelli-Hood Demand Control Kitchen Ventilation (DCKV) System with the 2015 Energy Star Emerging Technology Award for its ability to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Commercial kitchen ventilation removes the heat and effluent generated by the cooking process from the kitchen space. Commercial kitchen ventilation is typically composed of an exhaust hood suspended above the cooking appliances ducted to fans that expel the heat and effluent outside. To replace the air lost through this process, make-up air (MUA) must be provided by the building’s HVAC system or a dedicated MUA fan to the kitchen, which is composed of its own fan, ducts and potentially heating or cooling depending on the climate.
DCKV provides control over the ventilation system by modulating the speed depending on cooking activity. Traditionally, commercial kitchen ventilation systems would operate at their maximum designed speed/volume throughout the duration of the kitchen’s operating hours. DCKV, on the other hand, provides automatic, continuous control over fan speed in response to temperature or optical sensors that monitor cooking activity.
With more than 10,000 systems installed worldwide, Intelli-Hood has saved food service operations an estimated 650 million kWh of electricity. It received the 2012 AHR Product of the Year award in 2012.
