The often-overlooked system that keeps your kitchen safe, comfortable, and code-compliant. Learn more about the basics of what make up air is and what considerations need to be made when remodeling or building your home. Specifically, when it is necessary and what regulations to be aware of here in the Detroit Metro Area.
Make up Air Overview
Makeup air systems are mechanical ventilation systems that supply fresh outside air to replace air exhausted by powerful kitchen range hoods. Without one, your home develops negative air pressure — and in today’s tightly built, energy-efficient homes, that’s a real problem.
When a high-powered hood runs without a makeup air source, your home tries to draw air in wherever it can: fireplace flues, furnace vents, and gas appliance exhausts. This is called backdrafting, and it can pull combustion gases — including carbon monoxide — into your living space. Most jurisdictions require makeup air for hoods rated above 400 CFM, and Michigan’s increasingly tight energy codes make this relevant to nearly every serious kitchen project.
Signs you Might Need Make up Air:
- Doors are hard to open when the hood runs at high speed
- Whistling drafts near windows or doors while cooking
- A gas fireplace or pilot light flickers when the hood is on
- You’re planning a remodel with a professional-grade range
A properly specified system includes a motorized damper, filtration, and — critical in Michigan’s climate — a heating element to temper incoming air. When integrated early in the design process, these systems are discreet and seamless. Retrofitting them is a different story.
At Specialties Showroom, we work with designers, architects, and builders to make sure ventilation is part of the conversation from day one — not an afterthought.