Hey Appliance Fans,
We never see Uncle Sam and Colonel Sanders in the same room at the same time. Hmmmmmm.
I’m not going to lie. Ventilation is super boring. Not because it’s not vital to a kitchen, it is, but because there’s not much to talk about. Of course there are styles galore when it comes to choosing the look of your hood (that’s an entirely different blog post), but the concept of ventilation is pretty basic: a fan removes smoke, heat, and odors out of your kitchen and shoots it to the outside. That’s pretty much it. Snooze fest, right? Well things just got more interesting:
The “leaky home” is a thing of the past; new homes are consistently being built more air tight to make them more energy efficient. Proper ventilation pairs exhausted air (the range hood) with an equal amount of “compensation air” from the outside (the make up air system). This ensures that any exhausted air is immediately replaced.
Pennsylvania Building code now requires that any exhaust hood (for a venting cooking product) capable of exhausting in excess of 400 CFM (cubic feet per minute) shall require a makeup air system equal to the exhaust rate. Many townships are beginning to enforce this requirement during home inspections. Many builders are unaware of this requirement and have had to address this make up air system AFTER construction of the kitchen. This leads to costly retrofitting in order to meet code. It is advantageous to be proactive and plan for these systems before construction.
While states across the country were developing their own make up air codes, manufacturers were left without an answer and began scrambling to develop solutions to meet this new requirement. Little by little, companies began to offer CFM reducer kits and Broan introduced their own make up air system that worked exclusively on their hoods. Though these new products did help certain consumers meet code, there still wasn’t a universal make up air system on the market. Not anymore.
Universal Make Up Air
Model #: MD8TU, Broan’s 8″ Universal Make Up Air system.
Broan has now developed a system that can be installed in any brand of hood and will solve any make up air issues. The MD6TU (a 6” round duct solution) and the MD8TU (an 8” round duct solution for larger CFM motors) are now available. This system is designed to balance pressure between inside and outside, while providing effective ventilation for a cleaner, healthier home. Broan offers a simple solution for automatic and controlled fresh air into the home every time you turn on the range hood! This is an interlocked, synchronized system that installs easily and requires only low voltage wiring to the sensor. This is perfect for new construction or retrofit into an existing home.
How it Works
A sensor attaches to your new or existing duct work. The sensor detects when the air pressure changes signaling, that your hood has been turned on. This triggers the make up air damper to open, pulling fresh air into the home while the hood is exhausting smoke and odors outside. This system can be installed in conjunction with any brand hood and will fulfill make up air codes throughout the United States.
Problem solved, right? Now we can go back to cooler things like high output burners, steam ovens, and celebrity kitchens!
-The Kieffer’s Guy
As always, don’t forget to visit the Kieffer’s website for all of your appliance needs in Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, and Washington DC!
