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From 5,540W to 17,500W: How to Size a Commercial Kitchen Air Conditioner by Burner Count and Floor Area
2026-07-01
Walk into any hotel or restaurant kitchen. Dinner rush. You feel it immediately. A wall of heat. Steam. Noise. Chefs, they work inches from roaring burners. Sweat dripping. Hoping the next order doesn’t push them past their limit. The owner, they probably tried a standard split air conditioner. A while ago. Within six months, the Cooling Coil? Choked with grease. Airflow collapsed. The unit, dead. Then they brought in industrial fans. Those just stirred the hot air around. What they really needed — and what you need to specify, as an equipment buyer or kitchen planner — is a purpose‑built kitchen air conditioner. But here’s the thing. Cooling capacities, they stretch from a few thousand watts to nearly 18 kilowatts. How do you pick the right one? Without overpaying, or under‑sizing.
This article gives you a straightforward method. Experience‑based. It relies on two numbers you already know: the number of burners in the kitchen, and the floor area. No psychrometric charts. No complex heat‑load software. Just a simple table, and three steps. And at the end, we’ll show you something. How Senjun’s Commercial Hotel Kitchen Air Conditioner series turns this selection logic into a reliable, long‑lasting piece of equipment.
Where Is All That Heat Coming From?
In a commercial kitchen, the dominant heat sources are the cooking appliances. A single high‑output wok burner, it can dump 2 to 4 kW of heat into the room. Add steamers, ovens, griddles, bain‑maries. The sensible plus latent heat load, it quickly becomes overwhelming. Then there’s the second factor. The building itself. Heat sneaks in. Through walls, ceilings, windows, ventilation openings. People and lighting, they add their share too. All of this, it scales directly with the kitchen’s floor area and ceiling height.
Standard comfort air conditioners, they fail here. Because they were never designed. For a grease‑laden, high‑humidity, chemically aggressive environment. The Aluminum Fins on a normal evaporator, they act like a filter. Trapping oil mist, flour dust. Within weeks. Corrosion from acidic cooking fumes eats through the coil. Airflow drops. Until the compressor burns out. A kitchen‑specific AC must start with anti‑corrosion coatings. Multi‑layer metal grease filters. And a cabinet and fan, robust enough to push air through long duct runs, against the static pressure of those filters.
The Quick Sizing Formula: Burners Set the Base, Area Refines It
Through hundreds of kitchen projects, the industry developed a practical rule of thumb:
Required cooling capacity (W) ≈ [Number of burners × Average heat gain per burner (W)] + [Kitchen area (m²) × Cooling load index per square meter (W/m²)]
Then you apply a diversity factor. Also called the simultaneous usage factor. Because not every burner runs flat‑out, all at the same time.
For a typical Chinese cooking kitchen with gas woks:
- Heat gain per burner: For a standard wok burner, use 2,500–3,500 W per burner eye. For stockpot or simmer burners, use 1,500–2,000 W. Adjust according to the actual rated input.
- Area cooling index: For a mid‑range hotel kitchen, assume 400–600 W/m². If the ceiling is higher than 3.5 meters, or there are big west‑facing windows, or ventilation is poor, raise that index. To 600–800 W/m².
- Diversity factor: Multiply the burner total by 0.7–0.9. A typical 6‑burner kitchen, it rarely has all six on full power at once. The peak simultaneous load, it might only be 70–80 %.
A quick example:A kitchen has 5 wok burners. Plus 2 stockpot burners. And a steamer, you count that as one more burner equivalent. That makes 8 heat sources. You estimate 3,000 W each, gives 24,000 W. The area is 30 m², and you take 500 W/m², adds 15,000 W. The raw total is 39,000 W. Apply a diversity factor of 0.8. You arrive at about 31,200 W. But hold on — Kitchen AC Units, they aren’t typically sized at 30 kW as a single packaged unit. This formula gives you the total cooling you need. In practice, you pick one or multiple units that add up close to that demand. Our Senjun range goes up to 17,500W. So a kitchen like this might use two 17,500W units. Or a 17,500W unit paired with a smaller one. But the principle, it holds.
Quick Selection Table Based on Senjun’s Product Range
We’ve taken these calculations, distilled them. Into a simple look‑up table. Find the burner count and area closest to your project. You land on a recommended Senjun cooling capacity.
| Kitchen scale | Burners (approx.) | Floor area (m²) | Recommended cooling range | Matching Senjun model | Suggested airflow / static pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small open stall / light oil smoke | 2–3 | 15–25 | 5,500–8,000 W | 5,540 W series | Airflow 720–1,200 m³/h, static 220–300 Pa |
| Mid‑size Chinese kitchen | 4–6 | 25–40 | 10,000–14,000 W | 10,000 W / 14,000 W series | Airflow 1,500–2,000 m³/h, static 350–450 Pa |
| Large hotel banquet kitchen | 6–8+ | 40–60 | 16,000–17,500 W | 17,500 W series | Airflow 2,200–2,650 m³/h, static 450–550 Pa |
Matching the cooling capacity, that’s only half the job. The airflow and external static pressure, they determine if that cool air actually reaches the chefs. Commercial kitchens are cluttered. With hoods, ducts, overhead shelving. So the air conditioner must push conditioned air through supply ducts. And overcome the resistance of grease filters. Our units, they offer max airflow of 720 to 2,650 m³/h. Max external static pressures from 220 to 550 Pa. That gives you flexibility, to design the air distribution. And, the supply air outlet comes in three standard diameters — ⌀192 mm, ⌀238 mm, and a rectangular 300×260 mm connection. So you can match existing ductwork. Without complicated transitions.
Three Easy Steps to Select Your Unit
Step 1: Count the heat sources. Walk the kitchen floor. Tally up every gas burner, induction hob, steamer, oven. Treat each major heat emitter as a burner equivalent. Don’t forget the appliances that run continuously. Rice cookers, griddles.
Step 2: Measure the area. Pull a tape. Length and width. If the ceiling is above 3.5 meters, add 10–15 % extra capacity. To account for the bigger air volume that needs cooling. And the stratification effect. If the kitchen has a large window facing the afternoon sun, or visibly poor exhaust ventilation, bump the area index up one bracket.
Step 3: Match to the table. Find the combination that best describes your kitchen. Pick a cooling capacity. If the kitchen has heavy steam loads — like a dim‑sum station with open steamers — think about moving up one capacity level. This makes sure, even during the peak summer rush, the air temperature around the cooking line, it stays around a bearable 26°C. With reasonable humidity control.
Senjun’s Solution: The Commercial Hotel Kitchen Air Conditioner Series
We know what keeps hotel managers, restaurant owners, awake at night. They invest in air conditioning. Within a year, it’s a corroded, grease‑clogged liability. That’s why Senjun’s Commercial Hotel Kitchen Air Conditioner series, it’s built from the ground up. To handle the punishment.
Wide capacity range: Standard models cover 5,540 W, 10,000 W, 14,000 W, and 17,500 W. A span that fits everything. From a compact open‑kitchen stall. To a large hotel banquet kitchen.
Powerful air delivery: Maximum airflow from 720 to 2,650 m³/h. Max external static pressures from 220 to 550 Pa. That means we can push cool air. Through long duct runs. Through dense grease filters. Without choking.
Built to last in a greasy environment: The evaporator and condenser coils, they feature anti‑corrosion coated fins. Multi‑layer metal grease filters come as standard. Capturing oil mist and steam, before they ever reach the coil. The whole unit is designed for easy access, easy cleaning. So routine maintenance, it can be done by the kitchen staff. Between services.
Flexible connections: With outlet diameters of ⌀192 mm, ⌀238 mm, and 300×260 mm, integration into your existing ductwork is straightforward. Saves time, saves cost on installation.
Power requirements: Total input power ranges from 1,820 W to 6,270 W. Depends on the model. Easily accommodated in most commercial electrical panels.
Factory strength and customization: Senjun, we’re a specialist manufacturer of engineered cooling equipment. Beyond our standard models, we offer deep customization. Alter the air outlet orientation. Adjust the cooling capacity within a range. Add a fresh‑air pre‑treatment function. Or integrate remote monitoring and control. If you’re outfitting a chain of restaurants, need a standardized spec. Or you have a single complex hotel kitchen, with unusual layout constraints. Our engineering team works with you. From design, to final commissioning. We handle the full chain — design, prototyping, testing, volume production — under one roof.
Let’s size your kitchen together: Get in touch with Senjun today. Send us the number of burners. The kitchen area. The ceiling height. We will send you back a free cooling‑load calculation. And a specific model recommendation. No guesswork. No obligation. Just a clear path. To a cooler, more productive kitchen.
A Cool Kitchen Is a Productive Kitchen
Sizing a kitchen air conditioner, it doesn’t have to be a stressful engineering exercise. Focus on the two clearest indicators — burner count and floor area. Then layer in the necessary airflow, static pressure. You can arrive at a specification that works. Every watt of cooling you pay for, it should translate directly. Into better working conditions. Faster ticket times. Staff who stay sharp, through the rush. Don’t let another summer go by. With a kitchen that feels like a sauna. Partner with Senjun. Let’s put the right air conditioner, in your project.