Restaurant HVAC & Refrigeration in San Jose

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In a restaurant, the HVAC and the refrigeration are not separate systems. The exhaust hood pulls air out, the make-up air and rooftop units push it back in, the cooking line heats the room, and every cooler, reach-in and ice machine rejects its own heat into the same space. When one part is off, the others pay for it. Cool Aid services restaurant HVAC and refrigeration together across San Jose, with C-20 and C-38 licenses under one roof.

The kitchen as one system

Hood exhaust and make-up air

A kitchen hood removes a large volume of hot, greasy air. That air has to be replaced, either by a dedicated make-up air unit or by the building's rooftop units. When make-up air is short, the building goes negative: doors are hard to open, drafts pull in through the front, the hood captures smoke poorly, and hot kitchen air drifts into the dining room. When there is too much, conditioned air is wasted. Balancing the two is the first thing we look at when a San Jose restaurant says the dining room "never cools down."

Heat load on the refrigeration

Reach-ins and prep tables on the cooking line sit in some of the hottest air in the building. Their condensers pull in that air plus airborne grease, which coats coils and makes compressors run longer. A kitchen that runs hot because of a make-up air problem also shortens the life of every self-contained refrigerator in it. On hot San Jose summer afternoons, rooftop condensing units for walk-ins face the same squeeze from outside.

Dining room comfort

Guests notice when the dining room is warm on a heat wave evening or chilly and drafty on a cool, damp winter night. Rooftop units serving dining rooms fight both the outdoor weather and the kitchen's pull on the building. Filters and coils also collect grease and, during wildfire smoke seasons, ash. Our general guide to common HVAC problems in restaurants covers the mechanics in more depth.

County DEH inspections and your equipment

San Jose restaurants are inspected by the Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health, usually two to four times a year depending on the type of facility (Santa Clara County DEH). On the refrigeration side, the rules are simple: cold-held food at or below 41°F; 42°F to 50°F is a minor violation and above 50°F a major one (County DEH, fixed food facilities). Ice machines must be cleaned at the manufacturer's frequency or often enough to prevent soil and mold (Cal. Health & Safety Code 114117).

Equipment problems that commonly lead to findings:

• Prep table rails and reach-ins drifting above 41°F during service
• Walk-in doors that do not seal, or evaporators iced over
• Condensate leaks and water pooling under equipment
• Ice machines with slime or mold in the water path or bin

Two San Jose restaurants we work with

Lotus Thai, San Jose. Lotus Thai relies on Cool Aid for preventive maintenance on both its HVAC and its refrigeration, and calls us for emergency repair when something fails between visits. Covering both systems with one contractor means the technician who checks the rooftop unit also knows the walk-in and the reach-ins, which shortens diagnosis on the bad days.

Taco Bell, Downtown San Jose. The walk-in cooler at this Downtown location failed during peak hours. Cool Aid repaired it and the store prevented food loss. Our page on walk-in cooler repair in San Jose explains what staff can do while they wait for a technician.

What a restaurant maintenance plan covers

• Rooftop and split HVAC: filters, coils, belts, drains, refrigerant checks and controls. More on this on our commercial HVAC in San Jose page.
• Make-up air: operation, airflow and interlock with the hood where applicable.
• Walk-ins and reach-ins: condenser and evaporator coils, fans, defrost, gaskets and door heaters, temperature checks under load.
• Ice machines: cleaning, descaling and sanitizing; see ice machine repair in San Jose.

Visit frequency depends on your menu and volume. A high-volume kitchen with fryers and char-broilers loads coils with grease faster than a café, and needs more visits.

Energy and the restaurant bill

Restaurants run refrigeration around the clock and HVAC for long service hours, so they carry heavy electric loads. In San Jose, electricity usually comes from San José Clean Energy, the city's community provider, with PG&E delivering it and handling billing, while PG&E also supplies natural gas (San José Clean Energy). Balanced make-up air, clean coils and tight door gaskets are the practical energy measures that also protect your food safety.

About Cool Aid

Family-owned since 1966, founded by Glenn McKinny and led today by Jim McKinny, Cool Aid works from 3511 Thomas Rd in Santa Clara, next to San Jose. We hold California C-20 and C-38 licenses, our technicians are EPA Universal certified, and we are factory-authorized for True Manufacturing, Traulsen, Turbo Air, Dukers, Manitowoc Ice, Hoshizaki and Scotsman. Every job carries a one-year parts and labor warranty, and we answer 24/7. Our Bay Area pages on commercial refrigeration and commercial HVAC cover the wider service range.

Still comparing contractors? See our list of restaurant HVAC and refrigeration companies in San Jose and commercial HVAC companies in San Jose, which include others. For all local services, start at our San Jose HVAC and refrigeration services page.

Talk to us about your San Jose restaurant

Frequently asked questions

Written and reviewed by Jim McKinny, owner of Cool Aid Air Conditioning & Refrigeration — California C-20 and C-38 licensed, EPA Universal certified, second generation of a family business serving the Bay Area since 1966. Every job we complete is backed by our 1-year parts & labor warranty.