What Is Commercial Kitchen Ventilation Commissioning?

The commercial kitchen ventilation (CKV) system is just that, a system, complete with hoods, exhaust and makeup air fans, makeup air conditioning and delivery and in many cases, demand-based controls. Simply stated, when commissioning (Cx) is compromised, CKV performance falls short of client expectations! Unfortunately, commissioning a CKV system is a complex, multi-phase task not always understood by the design community. Many times, the failure of an exhaust hood to capture effluent from the cooking process could have been mitigated through effective commissioning. This is a high-level perspective on the commissioning process applied to a commercial kitchen.