Professional Kitchen Range Hood Testing Services
Verify kitchen exhaust airflow, makeup air performance, code compliance, and safe pressure balance using professional building-science testing equipment.
Verify Airflow, Balance, and Safety
SBC Testing offers specialized kitchen range hood airflow testing to help ensure your mechanical ventilation system effectively removes grease, smoke, moisture, and indoor air pollutants while maintaining proper home balance and safety.
SBC Testing combines advanced building science tools with hands-on expertise to verify actual kitchen exhaust system performance.
Makeup air is a code requirement for new homes where range hoods exhaust greater than 400 CFM.
View the referenced building code ↗Confirm actual exhaust flow in cubic feet per minute.
Evaluate makeup air operation for high-capacity hoods.
Identify excessive depressurization and backdrafting risks.
Testing for Airflow, Makeup Air, and Code Compliance
Kitchen exhaust systems can perform very differently in the field than their rated specifications suggest. Testing verifies what the system is actually doing.
Flow Hood Airflow Verification
Using calibrated fans and manometers, SBC Testing measures the true exhaust flow in Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) at the range hood.
Many fans perform significantly below their rated capacity due to undersized ductwork, sharp elbows, or restrictive exterior dampers.
Makeup Air Compliance & Depressurization Safety
High-capacity range hoods, often 400 CFM or greater, pull large volumes of air out of the home.
Without adequate makeup air, this can create extreme negative pressure and cause backdrafting of combustion appliances such as wood stoves or gas water heaters.
SBC Testing verifies makeup air damper performance to help meet building-code requirements and maintain safe building pressure conditions.
Active Makeup Air System Assistance
SBC Testing can also assist with the design and verification of an active makeup air system when additional ventilation balancing is needed.
This helps coordinate exhaust airflow with a controlled source of replacement air rather than relying on uncontrolled leakage through the building envelope.
New Construction & Code Compliance
Whether meeting local mechanical-code requirements for new construction or verifying system balance in a high-performance home, SBC Testing provides documented testing and reporting for the project.
Testing provides measurable verification that the installed kitchen exhaust and makeup air system are performing as intended.
High-Capacity Exhaust Can Change Building Pressure
Powerful kitchen exhaust systems can depressurize a tight home quickly. Properly designed and verified makeup air helps replace exhausted air and reduces the risk of pressure-related performance and safety problems.
Range Hood Testing in Practice
See an example of SBC Testing's kitchen exhaust airflow and building-performance testing.
Let's Verify Your Ventilation System.
Whether you need code-compliance testing, airflow verification, makeup air evaluation, or help assessing building pressure, SBC Testing can help determine the right testing approach.
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