Are Heat Recovery Systems Worth It?

Whether you operate a restaurant, bakery, café, or any other commercial catering facility, businesses across the UK are facing higher costs. This makes it more imperative than ever that these premises are as efficient as possible—making money go further while still delivering the high-quality, high-volume service that your customers and patrons expect.

One such way of improving the efficiency of your commercial kitchen might be to introduce a heat recovery system. This high-tech way of limiting heat loss can not only reduce bills, but also eliminate the heavy, humid atmosphere that can build up on a busy shift.

In this article, we’re posing the question: are heat recovery systems (also known as heat recovery fans or ventilators) worth it? To answer that question, we need to start by explaining exactly what we mean by a heat recovery system in a commercial kitchen environment, and how these systems claim to work.

How does a heat recovery system work?

A heat recovery system works by extracting warm, stale air from inside your kitchen, and using its heat—via a heat exchanger—to warm up the fresh incoming air from outside. The heat recovery system ensures that these two airflows don’t mix, with the stale air disappearing and the fresh air helping to maintain a comfortable working temperature.

You can understand it as a mix between a heat pump and an air conditioning unit. A heat recovery system both conditions and recycles the air in your cooking space without expending extra energy to warm it up. This helps to maintain an appropriate ambient temperature while also preventing issues with stale air, and ensuring that any toxic elements like gas fumes are extracted properly.

You might also hear terms like heat recovery fan or heat recovery ventilator (HRV). While all of these systems perform the same core function—reclaiming heat from extracted air and using it to heat incoming air—they may differ in size, application, or complexity. In all of these cases, it’s common for a full HRV system to be integrated into the mechanical ventilation design of a commercial kitchen.

What are the benefits of a heat recovery system?

The biggest benefit of a heat recovery system is its efficiency. If your heating system works independently from your ventilation system, it will need to work much harder to continuously heat up cold air from outside. On the other hand, if they are working together, heat can be recycled without recycling the stuffy atmosphere that can build up in a busy kitchen.

While this naturally reduces your monthly energy costs, it’s also a boon for sustainability. A heat recovery system will lower your emissions, a relevant factor not just for meeting energy rating requirements, but also a boost for your business’ PR. 

A heat recovery system also delivers better indoor air quality. It constantly removes stale, moisture-laden air, and brings in fresh, filtered air without causing temperature shocks. This improves staff comfort, helps prevent condensation and mould, and creates a more hygienic working environment. This can make for a healthier and happier team, reducing illnesses and fatigue and improving morale.

By regulating humidity and temperature more effectively, heat recovery systems can also reduce the strain on the rest of your HVAC setup. The reduced need to condition air can lead to lower maintenance costs, and a longer lifespan for your other expensive heating and cooling equipment.

In short, a well-designed heat recovery system doesn’t just cut bills—it supports a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient commercial kitchen.

What are the disadvantages of a heat recovery system?

A heat recovery system might be the pièce de résistance of the warming and ventilation worlds, but it can carry a significant price tag. The upfront cost of a heat recovery system can run into the tens of thousands depending on its size and complexity, something that might not be suitable for a smaller or more newly established operation. 

If you are in need of or require something larger and more complex, be aware that the space taken up by a heat exchanger and its ducts and access panels can also be considerable. This might mean it isn’t a suitable option for commercial kitchens within heritage buildings, where the capacity for alterations might be limited.

Are heat recovery systems worth it?

Overall, we believe that heat recovery ventilation systems are absolutely worth it by most metrics. If you can absorb the short-term cost, they combine high-quality air conditioning with very efficient heating capabilities, saving money in the medium to long term and creating a healthier working environment. 

For a large business with a big budget, the up-front costs will be negligible. Even for smaller ventures, you will be able to recoup the costs over the course of the kitchen’s lifetime through lower energy bills; reduced equipment wear; and a healthier kitchen environment, leading to lower staff turnover and lower recruitment costs. 

Ultimately, if your commercial kitchen is running at high capacity, operating long hours, or being future-proofed for sustainability targets, a heat recovery system is a smart long-term investment. It supports not just the bottom line, but also your staff’s wellbeing and your environmental goals—the cherry on the icing on the cake.

At Commercial Catering Contracts, we have substantial experience in designing and fitting heat recovery systems. If you would like to know more about how a heat recovery system could benefit your business, or how we can incorporate one into a new commercial kitchen design, speak to our team of specialists today.