Free Tool
Kitchen Ventilation Energy Waste Calculator
Find out how much money your kitchen is losing through unbalanced ventilation. Enter your hood size and utility rates — we'll show you the annual waste.
Your Kitchen
How This Works
Your exhaust hood pulls air out of the kitchen. The makeup air unit (MAU) is supposed to replace it with tempered air. When the MAU can't keep up, the building goes under negative pressure and sucks unconditioned outside air in through every door, crack, and gap. Your building HVAC has to heat or cool all of that air — every hour the hood is running.
Formula: BTU/hr = 1.08 × Infiltration CFM × Temperature Difference
Your 2,750 CFM Exhaust Hood
14 hrs/day, 365 days/yrMAU design: 2,200 CFM (80% of exhaust for proper capture). Baseline infiltration: 550 CFM by design.
When the MAU can't deliver its design CFM, the building HVAC pays to condition the extra outside air:
MAU not working at all
MAU output: 0 of 2,200 CFM2,200 CFM the MAU should be tempering but isn't — sucked in as raw outside air through doors and gaps instead. Every hour, 14 hours a day.
Heating Waste
$3,362
/year
Cooling Waste
$848
/year
Total Waste
$4,210
/year
MAU running at 50%
MAU output: 1,100 of 2,200 CFM1,100 CFM the MAU should be tempering but isn't — sucked in as raw outside air through doors and gaps instead. Every hour, 14 hours a day.
Heating Waste
$1,681
/year
Cooling Waste
$424
/year
Total Waste
$2,105
/year
MAU running at 80%
MAU output: 1,760 of 2,200 CFM440 CFM the MAU should be tempering but isn't — sucked in as raw outside air through doors and gaps instead. Every hour, 14 hours a day.
Heating Waste
$672
/year
Cooling Waste
$170
/year
Total Waste
$842
/year
Additional Savings: Demand Control Ventilation
Your exhaust fan runs at full speed all day — even when the kitchen isn't cooking. A demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) upgrade uses sensors to slow the fan during idle periods, saving 30-60% of fan energy.
Current Fan Energy Cost
$972/yr
1.5 HP × 14 hrs/day
DCV Savings Potential
$292-$583/yr
30-60% reduction
Get your exact numbers
This calculator uses estimates. A real air balance tells you exactly how much you're wasting. Leave your info and we'll schedule a free assessment — plus email you a copy of this estimate.