If you work in a commercial kitchen or own a business with a heavy involvement in commercial kitchens, you’ll know doubt know all about kitchen ventilation regulations, the Specification for Kitchen Ventilations Systems, or the DW/172 as it’s otherwise known. This authoritative guide is provided by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and aims to offer sound advice on how to design, install and maintain kitchen ventilation systems that are used in commercial properties.
The DW/172 has been around for 20 years now (earlier known as the DW/171). However, with the last revision being as far back as 2005, it was about time the guide was updated to meet the requirements of today’s modern technology.
The latest revision of the DW/172 was released in January of this year and with it, comes information for ventilation engineers on how to adapt to the latest tech and equipment in the industry and the latest cooking methods too. Find out more about the updates to the DW/172 and the latest BEST kitchen ventilation regulations here.
A revised coefficient schedule
The updated coefficient schedule can be used by ventilation system designers, when determining the extract duty of a canopy. The new schedule can be used for a variety of electric and gas appliances.
Information on solid fuel equipment
More and more commercial kitchens are choosing to use solid fuel equipment or appliances for their everyday operations. These pieces of equipment include wood burning pizza ovens and charcoal grills, for example. With these types of cooking equipment becoming increasingly popular, it was vital that more information was provided around ventilation for these appliances.
The newly update DW/172 now includes information on solid fuel equipment and how to ensure proper ventilation standards are maintained when making use of these appliances.
Revisions to the previous lighting section
In the latest DW/172, you will also find an updated section surrounding lighting in a commercial kitchen, which should help to eradicate common lighting issues that many kitchens are faced with.
Demand controlled kitchen ventilation included
Now that smart technologies have taken the world by storm, it makes sense for commercial kitchens to begin using them for energy efficiency purposes. With that in mind, the brand new DW/172 contains a completely new section focusing on demand controlled kitchen ventilation about how to go about utilising smart technology to control the ventilation in the kitchen, as and when it’s needed.
New pollution controls
Plenty of new thinking and initiatives have come into play since the last DW/172 was released back in 2005, especially around indoor air quality in and around commercial kitchens. These brand new processes have causes a number of modifications to be made within the DW/172 for how to control pollution and reduce the levels of toxins in breathable air.
Other updated areas worth mentioning include new and improved guidelines on recirculation ventilation, as well as new requirements for the cleaning and maintenance of ventilation systems in a commercial kitchen.
It’s expected that the brand new DW/172 will better meet the demands of modern commercial kitchens, something which the previous 2005 version was a little too outdated for. More information on the DW/172 can be found over on the BESA website, where you can also request a copy of the newly updated guidelines.
