5 ideas for a restaurant fit out with cooling

Calling on contemporary coastal with timber fans

 Crystalbrook featuring Haiku fans.

There’s nothing quite like enjoying a meal or some drinks in a classy yet laid-back environment. This fit out at a Crystalbrook Collection restaurant lets the natural light in while providing shade from the outside. The timber fans complement the woven light shades, working together to create a warm accent against the white elements.

Open-air dining with fans that blend in

Sentosa Island featuring Essence HVLS fans.

On those warm days, a cool breeze makes it possible to enjoy the outdoors. Sentosa Island is a popular resort in Singapore where people flock to enjoy the sunshine and beaches. Blending in with the roof, these eight blade fans are part of the space rather than disrupting it. They operate silently to cool down guests without taking anything away from the visual experience.

Heritage charm with subtle airflow

The Continental Sorrento Australia featuring Haiku L fans.

The Continental Sorrento in Victoria dates back to 1875 and radiates coastal luxury. Blending in with the dark ceiling beams, the cooling system in The Continental Sorrento creates subtle airflow. As the sun streams in, the fans help distribute the cool air from the air conditioning system. It’s a seamless solution for a restaurant fit out that blends the indoors and outdoors.

Fans as part of décor

Crystalbrook featuring Haiku fans.

This Crystalbrook bar is designed to be all-at-once beautiful, spacious, and intimate. This is the perfect example of how your airflow system can add interest to interior design. When selected carefully, fans go beyond function and act as an extension of your décor. In the example above, fans not only create interest, but add harmony to the space. Without each other the fans and rectangular ceiling features would be missing something. They layer beautifully, changing as you move through the space.

Industrial rustic: fans among beams and piping

Felons featuring Essence HVLS fans.

Step into Felons, a brewery sitting proudly on the Brisbane River right below the iconic Story Bridge. The interior is just as impressive with open ceilings that layer beams, eight blade fans, and various piping and fittings. Creating a rustic charm, this restaurant fit out ties every functional element into the incredible design.

Fans vs. air conditioning

Restaurant and café owners often ask whether they need fans, air conditioning or both. In covered outdoor areas, fans can often do the job on their own. Indoors, fans and air conditioning work best as a pair where the fans circulate cooled air through the room, so the air conditioning doesn’t have to work as hard.

The main benefits of using fans in a restaurant or café are that they:

• have a very low operating cost when compared to air conditioners
• keep guests comfortable on cooler days when air conditioning isn’t required
• work well in combination with air conditioning indoors for energy efficiency and air circulation

The main benefits of air conditioners are that they:

• are perfect for cooling indoor spaces on hot and humid days when fans alone are not enough
• provide temperature control
• reduce humidity by pulling moisture from the air

How do I avoid drafts on guests and food?

Choose the right fan size and placement for your ceiling height and layout and use adjustable speeds to fine-tune airflow. This will keep guests comfortable throughout the seasons. A Big Ass Fans expert can provide a free assessment of your venue and show you how fans can be integrated into your design for the best cooling.

Can ceiling fans replace air conditioning in a restaurant?

In covered outdoor areas, the answer is usually yes. Indoors, fans work best alongside air conditioning in climates that experience hot and humid seasons. Moving air helps guests feel cooler but it doesn’t lower the room temperature or reduce humidity, so you’ll generally want air conditioning for those hot, humid days.

When you’re completing a restaurant fit out, keep in mind that your cooling system can add to the design instead of detracting from it. These examples go to show that you can enhance your interiors with functional elements through thoughtful selection. If you’d like to explore your options, contact our team for a site assessment.