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Running a restaurant or commercial kitchen space of any kind means that you almost definitely have a make-up air unit integrated into your hood exhaust system. The exhaust hood system keeps your cooking spaces clean by pulling in elements such as grease, smoke and other airborne debris and expelling them outside. The make-up air units is then responsible for replacing the expelled dirty kitchen air with clean, fresh outside air. At the same time as it is pulling in and cleaning exterior air, the make-up air unit helps to balance the interior air pressure within the restaurant along with maintaining internal temperature and humidity.

There are two types of Make-Up Air Units - there are tempered and non-tempered units. The purpose of a tempered or heated make-up air unit is to 'pre-heat' the exterior air that is pulled into the system so that its already climate controlled before the air hit the HVAC system. Along with pre-heating the air to help keep the internal temperature of your restaurant warmer during colder months, but having the air be warm before hitting the HVAC system allows the HVAC system to run more efficiently and heat larger volumes of air without overworking the make-up air unit. Making the HVAC system more efficient helps save money during the winter months where cold air requires around-the-clock heating.

Tempered make-up air units have uses outside of restaurants and commercial kitchens. You can often find tempered make-air units supplying heated air to laboratories, manufacturing facilities, paint booths, warehouses, and even undergrou...