My wife's business is teaching cooking classes in its own kitchen which we've built out for this purpose. However, when class really gets going, it can get hot in there. We have an air conditioner but it gets overpowered. So, I'm looking for advice on (1) a solution, and/or (2) an honest A/C guy (or are they just a myth?). The Urban Chef kitchen is 18' x 24' x 8'. It has 4 ovens, 16 burners, a fridge and freezer that produce heat. There's also up to 8 students plus my wife working (that many bodies produce a lot of heat by themselves). We have one large window A/C unit (I can't remember the capacity right now) to cool things off. We've also installed some chimneys over the ovens to vent them up through the roof (didn't help the problem sufficiently). We had a guy from Trane come and he said we'd want to triple our AC capacity (the amount of noise they'd make is problematic too) but recommended this alternative style of A/C -- some kind of condensation system -- which is quiet but it is pricey. So, we're left wondering do we really need to triple our capacity or is the Trane guy trying to upsell us? Would that create too much noise? Do we need to bite the bullet and get the pricey system so we don't continue to waste money on solutions that don't work? Will it work? If we got one central A/C unit like I've got on my house, would that do the trick, considering it is only 400 sqft? If no one here knows, do they know someone I can trust to give me a straight answer seeing as Houston A/C guys have a reputation for being crooked SOBs?
I'm thinking you're going to need about triple the normal cooling for that space, with some duct runs to attack source heat and make sure you get circulation. You probably want exposed (cleanable) commercial metal duct, plenty of return air, and 3 and 1/2 to 5 tons of central A/C, depending of how well you exhaust vent the stoves and ovens. That's just my guess. That would keep your place clean, the cooling quiet, and your guests comfortable. A good commercial a/c man is Doug Reynolds at Barney's A/C - 713-472-4747. He's not cheap, but he knows what he is doing.
